Clear up mess say angry residents

Angry residents are demanding action over a plot of “no-man’s land” between Sandwell and Dudley, which has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

People living on the Bloomfields estate, in Tipton, claim their lives are being made a misery by nuisance youths gathering on a piece of overgrown land between their homes and a railway line. Residents claim the land has become a hotspot for drug users and fly-tippers, and they have been battling for six years to try and get work done to spruce up the site.

But bosses at Dudley and Sandwell Councils are still trying to establish which authority actually owns the plot before they can take action.

Frustrated residents in Lilac Avenue have now resorted to taking out their own strimmers and tools to tackle the overgrowth.

Bloomfields neighbourhood watch coordinator Dawn Turton, of Lilac Avenue, said the area was so dark that people feared anyone could have been hiding out in the bushes.

“We just want someone to take responsibility,” she said.

“It is just a mess of trees and bushes and people throw their rubbish over there.

“You get drugs down there, people sleeping rough and we had a police chase there a couple of years ago.

“You can’t see anything so you don’t know if anybody is watching you coming in and out of your home or in your garden,” she added.

Sandwell councillor for Great Bridge, Derek Rowley, said he believed Dudley Council owned the land and pleaded with bosses to clear it up.

“I believe it is definitely Dudley Council’s land and something needs to be done,” he added.

Dudley Council spokesman Chris Howes said bosses were still trying to establish who owned the land.