Villagers furious at fly-tippers crowdfund hidden cameras and catch culprits in the act
Watch: Fly-tippers caught on camera by furious locals
Fly-tippers who had been dumping rubbish at a beauty spot in Greater Manchester have been caught out after furious locals installed hidden cameras.
Residents in Park Bridge, Tameside, had grown fed up of the sight of the rubbish in the village, which they say was dumped there on a “weekly” basis, so took it upon themselves to chip in for the two £85 cameras.
Within days of the cameras being put up they'd caught two vans dumping rubbish on the country lanes around the area.
In the first video, recorded at 11.40am last Tuesday, a white van can be seen reversing into a lay-by, before the passenger gets out, runs to the back doors and tips a dustbin full of rubbish onto the road.
On Friday a second camera caught two men get out of another white van, before opening the rear doors and dumping a mattress, three chairs and what appears to be an old bed onto the ground before driving off.
Tameside council say the waste has since been cleared up and the incidents are being investigated.
Dan Bonser, who set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money for the cameras, which are camouflaged and equipped with motion sensors and night vision, said: "It's just absolutely disgusting.
"This is a close knit village, everyone knows everyone and everyone’s disgusted by it.
"It's a weekly problem. It's an eyesore, but it's also dangerous.
"A horse rider was nearly thrown off her horse last week when a piece of tarpaulin that had been dumped flew up in her face.”
Bonser said that fly-tipping has got worse during lockdown, when tips were closed.
He added: “Since then people seem to have realised they don't have to go to the tip they can just come to Park Bridge and dump it here.”
A Tameside Council spokesperson said: "Fly-tipping is illegal and unacceptable at all times both to the local community and environment and to public resources and we will always take action where appropriate…
"It is a legal requirement that householders check their waste is being disposed of legally and responsibly."
Watch: Ministers appeal to local leaders
