An appeal has been launched to catch fly-tippers who dumped their rubbish on the grounds of a Salford church, just metres away from gravestones.
The heaps of rubble, plasterboards and asbestos was found on St John’s Evangelist Church in Higher Broughton by resident Kevin Fowler during a walk over the weekend.
Kevin says he was ‘horrified’ to see the tip in the same place that many veterans who fought in the world wars were laid to rest.
Outraged, Kevin took pictures of the mess and posted it to Facebook, where he was met with fellow Salfordians who were just as disgusted.
Speaking to the M.E.N he said: “I was horrified to see this hence taking the images.
“During my walk I noticed [someone] had tipped rubbish on grounds used to bury family members that have passed.
“It’s a sad world we live in when people have a lack of moral judgement in right and wrong.
“The church is a landmark, has served the local community for a hundred plus years and had a memorial stone in honour of those that protected our rights during World War One.”
The grade two listed building opened in 1835 and was designed by Richard Lane, one of Manchester's most prominent Victorian architects at the time.
The 1,000-seater building served the people of Salford for hundreds of years before it was sold by the Church of England in 2008.
Salford City Council are asking the public for their help to catch the offenders, with officers examining the waste for any clues.
Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, Salford City Council, said: “The fly-tipping at St John's Church on Murray Street in Higher Broughton is disgraceful and has been removed by our environment team.
“It is on private land so it does not fall under our usual responsibility, but due to the waste being near gravestones we have taken action to get it cleared immediately.
“Unfortunately, this means the team has been pulled away from their usual duties – a diversion of the limited resources we have.
“I cannot believe somebody has chosen to dump like this in a graveyard, it is incredibly disrespectful. I would appeal for anybody with information to come forward as we need to catch who is responsible for this.
“Please check any CCTV, recording doorbells or dash cams you may have and report anything of use to http://www.salford.gov.uk/reportit
