A ROAD has become a hotspot for fly-tipping after it was closed to allow construction of a new bridge.

Chunks of meat were found left at the side of the road in Witton Park, County Durham, on Sunday, March 1.

The meat, which was identified as chicken carcasses, was dumped on New Road. It runs down to Witton Park Bridge, which is currently shut after engineers discovered serious structural defects that threatened the safety of the public.

After being reported to local councillors, it was cleaned up quickly by the Durham County Council’s Clean and Green team. Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at the council, said: “We were made aware of this incident in Witton Park at the weekend and immediately arranged for our Clean and Green team to clear the area.

“Incidents of food waste being dumped are rare, but we take all incidents of fly-tipping seriously and will take legal action against those who blight our communities in this way. Our officers gathered information at the scene in Witton Park and we will be investigating the matter further.”

Durham County councillor Rob York said: “It’s disgraceful. However, within an hour and half of being notified the council were out cleaning, so I have a lot of praise for them.

"The carcasses were classified as a hazardous waste and needed to cleaned before it could affect anything. In all my years of being a county councillor I have never seen anything like this.

“Due to Witton Park bridge being closed the road is shut and this has become attractive to fly-tippers who come down and dump all sorts – fridges, tyres and now meat.”

The council plans to place a mobile CCTV camera van to monitor the road, starting next week, to deter any more fly-tipping while work continues on the bridge.

The bridge will be closed until October due to work on its £2.5m replacement. Trees have been felled to make way for the work to begin and the current bridge is to be dismantled on March 20.

Resident of Witton Park, Dale Daniel, said: “I must praise the vigilance of the villagers, Councillor Rob Yorke and the environmental team whose swift action have removed the offending rubbish.”

More information about reporting waste and how to dispose of waste can be found on the council’s website.