The new Labour administration has promised a zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping and promised to clean up the city in 100 days.

However, over a month into the administration in Etruria residents on Kimberley Road are still suffering from repeated fly-tipping weeks after they reported it.

There is an added phenomenon taking place here, resident Freda Bilton said that people aren't collecting their bins which leaves them piled up on the entrances to alleyways.

She said: "It's bad and it has been bad for a long time. The council are partly to blame, really it has been worse ever since they went to the wheelie bins and they had the collection point, this means everybody dumps there.

"If you ring the council and ask them to collect the 10 items which you pay for they will tell you to take it to a collection point, so they encourage themselves. There are a lot of rented properties which means people are in and out of them and landlords just dump the rubbish."

Speaking on a possible solution to the ongoing problem Freda said: "It obviously needs cameras, if you are going to catch anybody. I know people who have taken photos of people doing it and sent it to the council but nothing happens and you never hear back from them."

During the time the LDRS was speaking to residents about the issues on the street, cardboard boxes had been added to the waste pile, which includes sofas, mattresses, bed frames and bags of rubbish.

Residents say the council are not doing enough about the problem on their street (LDR).

The problem is getting worse according to long standing resident Shamim Zahoor who said the problem is getting from bad to worse.

She has lived in her property for 26 years and said that when her children were growing up they played cricket in the entry to the alley and now she locks the gate when her grandchildren visit. 

She said: "I am constantly ringing the council, they do come about once a fortnight but as soon as they've been it's back again. It's terrible, we sit in the garden and have barbecues but it's just horrible, it's not a nice place to live.

"Sometimes me, my husband and daughter put our gloves on and clean all the rubbish and put it in the bins. It's just not getting any better and I think a lot of it has to do when residents don't take their bins back. 

"There are rats and a horrible smell because of it all. What are the council doing about it, nothing, it's a waste of time"

Her husband, Zahoor Chaudhary described that he once found a knife in the alleyway. He said: "People leave bin bags and I saw a knife sticking out of one and got rid of it. Children are playing in the alleyway and they could have been injured. The council just needs to put cameras up."

In a statement Stoke-on-Trent City Council confirmed that they are currently investigating the latest rubbish dump and promised to issue fines if any evidence is discovered.

Cllr Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for environment and enforcement advised:"The Environmental Crime Unit is currently investigating this most recent incident and any evidence found, will result in a £400 fine for the perpetrators.

"This site was cleared four weeks ago, it is wholly unacceptable to continue to waste council resources and tax-payer funds like this.

"Residents are reminded that fly-tipping is a crime and to use the bins provided ready for collection.

"To help save space in the general waste bin, residents are encouraged to recycle empty plastic bottles, cans, tins, cardboard, and paper."

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