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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ryan Fahey

'Nightmare' rubbish mountain that attracts rats and stinks is visible from Google Earth

A "nightmare" mountain of rubbish which attracts rats and lets off an awful stink is so massive it can be seen on Google Earth.

The terrible sight and awful stench comes from the Arrow Industrial Estate in Willenhall, where an enormous pile of trash has been building for several years.

Among the rat-infested heap are pieces of metal, furniture, children's toys and general waste, Birmingham Live reports.

Residents of the parallel street say they're "fed up" of having to see the eyesore every day.

Good news came at the end of February when Walsall Council served the landowners with an enforcement notice - requiring the site be cleared by the end of May. But the owners have appealed the notice, saying they need more time to clear their rubbish pile.

Resident Michael Aston said: "I'm over here very often feeding the ducks so to see that is terrible.

The site needs to be cleared by the end of May, but residents are pushing for the trash to be moved faster (Google Earth)

"I feel for the people who live right next to it who open their windows and have to see that first thing in the morning. In the summer, you get a bit of a smell off it as well. It is ridiculous.

"We all know each other in this street but to have to deal with that on a daily basis is totally undesirable. If people want to walk along the canal or sell their house on this street, they've got that to deal with. Having someone's rubbish dumped on your doorstep.

"You see the odd rat going across there. It's been there quite a while and is part of the view now but we're fed up of it."

Another resident Wayne Phillips added: "It's been an absolute nightmare. It's been there a couple of years and it's got worse and worse. Nothing's been done.

Locals say they've seen rats running around the rubbish (Google Earth)

"Now, what we are looking at is the summer is coming, spring is coming so we will get rats again, the smell will come back like it was before.

"There are a lot of kids on this street as well so to have to wake up to that every morning is unacceptable. Someone needs to take a bit of ownership really."

Councillors in the area praised residents for their patience and support and added that despite the appeal potentially delaying the clean-up, they were pleased to see action being taken.

Councillor Sarah-Jane Cooper said: "We have been working on this issue for some time but we are very pleased to see that enforcement action is finally being taken against the occupiers of this site. The conditions nearby residents were forced to live with were completely unacceptable."

Councillor Josh Whitehouse added: "It’s great that action is finally being taken on Straight Road, the legalities of this case have delayed action and residents have been extremely patient in waiting to get to this point. We are very glad of the end result.”

Local Conservative campaigner Amandeep Garcha also said: "I’m sure everyone will be pleased to see this enforcement action being taken following our campaign to clear the site.

"The nearby residents have been extremely patient and have had to endure this for quite some time. We can’t wait to see this blight on the area gone from our town."

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