Victory in battle over Wolverhampton eyesore

Victory was today claimed in a long-running battle to clean up a key gateway site in Wolverhampton branded one of the city's worst eyesores.

Mounds of rubbish have finally been cleared from the former Edward Vaughan stamping works in Lower Horseley Fields following legal action by the city council.

The area had become a magnet for fly tippers after security fencing was repeatedly broken down.

The land was left littered with abandoned chemical drums, tyres and piles of other rubbish.

Council officials took the land owner to court and were on the verge of doing so again when they finally got a response.

The move came shortly after the site, that lies just yards from a Welcome to Wolverhampton sign, fell into the hands of receivers.

Andy Hall, Wolverhampton City Council's public protection manager, said today: "We are extremely pleased this blight on the city landscape has finally been tidied up."

Darren Friel, chairman of the East Park tenants and residents' association, said: "This is a brilliant move and I am over the moon.

"It has been a long time coming and was a terrible blot on the landscape.."

Businessman Shiv Kumar Sharma has owned the land for seven years and said it had gone into receivership.

The 51-year-old of Perton, was fined £500 with £608 costs by magistrates in April last year after admitting failing to comply with a notice to clean up the site.