Rubbish to be removed and dumper charged

Richard McGowan (50), of North Road, East Dene, said his ordeal had been going on for eight years now and there was so much rubbish in his neighbour’s garden that “if that goes up in flames, we lose everything”.

But there was some good news this week as Rotherham Council said, after being contacted by the Advertiser, that it planned to remove the rubbish and bill the waste dumper.

Richard said: “The smell is awful.

“We can’t even sit outside in our garden or just open our windows.

“This has been ongoing for about eight years now. He never cuts his grass and the council seems powerless.

“We don’t really talk because when you knock on his door he doesn’t answer to absolutely anyone.

“We just don’t know what we can do so I told the council that if they were not dealing with this, I’d take it to the papers.”

Richard said the pile of waste was now more than 6ft tall and was home to creatures such as rats.

He said his wife had ill health and his ten-year-old grandson could not go outside either because of the potential consequences of being too close to the rubbish.

Richard said: “The rubbish is so high rats live underneath it and inside it.

“Yesterday, he threw eight bags in his garden. There must be 50 bags full of rubbish outside now.

“I’ve contacted the fire service saying if that goes up in flames, we will lose everything.

“I’ve got a little child in the house who has got toys in the garden and we can’t go outside because of the smell and the potential diseases. It’s an absolute health hazard.”

A spokesperson for Rotherham Council said: “We are aware of the issues at the neighbouring property and have been taking the necessary steps to deal with the matter.

“Further action is being taken over the next few days to resolve this issue.”

RMBC said it would remove the rubbish and charge the householder who had tipped it for the costs.