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Anger as settees and mattresses are dumped in Staffordshire village

Fly-tippers have left old settees, tatty mattresses and plastic bags strewn across a village field.

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The waste has been dumped on farmland in Union Lane, near the junction with Blackpit Lane and Flash Lane, in Wombourne.

A councillor has said fly-tipping in the village and wider area in South Staffordshire has become an increasing problem.

And he claims on many occasions travellers coming into the area from outside are to blame.

Old settees, tatty mattresses and plastic bags were strewn across the field

Councillor Alan Hinton, who represents Wombourne North and Lower Penn, is fed up of seeing trash strewn across the region.

He said: "Fly-tipping is a real problem in this area – it is a really big concern.

"Most of the time it's not people from this area that are doing it.

"They come from West Bromwich and Tipton a lot of the time.

"I reported a really bad case by Dillingsdale Nursery a couple of weeks ago.

"It's a big problem, not just in South Staffordshire but everywhere.

"If the council moves it then council taxpayers have to pay.

"And if the landowner gets it removed by the council, they get charged for it.

"It's nothing but a nuisance. I've got my own theories."

Fly-tipping is growing in the area, according to a local councillor

Councillor Hinton said he believed 'more often than not' it was travellers that 'leave stuff behind'.

"We have large groups of them all across the West Midlands region," he said.

Councillor Hinton, who has reported this latest case to South Staffordshire Council, added: "I've spoken to the council and told them about this.

"Hopefully they will get it cleaned up quickly, but it's not always that straightforward.

"It's on farmers land, so if the landowner can't afford to get it removed we may be left with it for a considerable period of time.

"It might be the council decides to clear it away anyway.

"There have been much worse cases of fly-tipping than this one.

"They've dumped sofas and beds and a few other things but I have seen a lot worse.

"That's not to say it's acceptable. I hope it gets moved and quickly."

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