A businesswoman has hit out at dumb dumpers and North Lanarkshire Council, after piles of rubbish were left on her doorstep.
The council’s environmental services department has refused to remove household waste dumped next to Girdwoods Bar on Hill Street, which has been closed for the last six months.
Pub owner Maura McLauchlin discovered the discarded rubbish and mattresses lying outside her pub back in January.
And despite repeated requests to the council to remove it, it’s still there and is now attracting dogs, foxes and vermin.
Maura told Lanarkshire Live: “People have just been dumping it on the pavement and at the side of the road.
“I was up at the pub and went out and bagged it all.
“There were letters and Christmas cards in amongst it, and food waste like pizza boxes and takeaways.
“There’s been dogs and foxes into it so the bags are all getting torn. It will attract mice and rats.
“I phoned the council and told them I’d bagged it all and put it all in the car park.
“The first guy I got was brilliant and said he would get it lifted.
“That was in January. A couple of weeks went by and I phoned them again. My last call was last week because it still hadn’t been lifted. They told me that a driver had been out and because it is on private property they weren’t lifting it.
“I said it wasn’t on private property, it was on the street and I could easily put it back where I got it, but they said they had photographs of where it’s sitting.”
The rat population in Wishaw and Newmains has increased in recent years, with sightings reported recently on Marshall Street, around 500 yards from Hill Street, where bins are overflowing.
Resident Trisha Hardie said: “Walking out in Marshall Street with our dog and came across three rats, went to top of street and bins were over the top with rubbish, this is not the first time we’ve seen this.
"Why are the bins not being emptied? No wonder there are rats going about.”
The council is refusing to remove on the waste left at Girdwoods and Maura could face having to fork out to remedy the problem.
“I’ve had Girdwoods for 20 years and never had any issues,” she added. “I keep the place spick and span.
“I use Viridor to lift the pub’s refuse but it’s not glass bottles or cardboard so they know it’s not my waste.
“They will charge me and I’m not paying for someone else’s dumping. I’m at the point where I’m writing to the local councillor to try and get the council to lift it.”
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: “We understand the frustration at this type of fly-tipping, which is an issue in communities across Scotland.
"Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, and we will pursue those responsible where we have evidence.
“The council regularly removes tonnes of rubbish from its land, using resources that would be better spent on providing vital local services. Where fly tipping is on privately owned land, it is the responsibility of the landowner to remove it.
“Residents can help us tackle fly tipping by contacting us with information, such as vehicle registration details, if they see incidents of fly tipping.”
