Brazen fly-tippers dumped more than 100 car tyres just yards from Fife homes — then returned to remove them hours later.
Residents in a Kirkcaldy street were fuming when the mountain of worn out tyres was dropped on a strip of Fife Council-owned land.
However, just as mysteriously as the illegal tipping appeared in the town’s Marion Street, every last one of the discarded tyres disappeared the next night.
Neighbours reckon the culprits got cold feet when they realised Fife Council was investigating the fly-tipping and crept back under cover of darkness to clear away their mess.
“A mountain of tyres just appeared out of nowhere, it was disgusting,” said one resident.
“But then they vanished just as soon as they appeared, which was bizarre.
“It must have took some effort to get all the tyres picked up again, there were loads right along the patch of grass.”
The u-turn happened earlier this month after officers from the council’s safer communities team opened an inquiry into the incident.
Posting photographs of the tyres on social media, a spokesperson for the local authority said: “Once we started making inquiries they miraculously disappeared over night and green grass was showing once again.
“How someone thinks this is acceptable is beyond us, but luckily, after our officers made inquiries, the person came to his or her senses and did the right thing.”
The town has seen a spike in the number of instances of fly tipping in recent months,
Only last week, cameras hidden by council officers captured one brazen van driver tipping a lorry load of rubble in a residential street, causing outrage among locals and prompting an appeal to identify the culprit.
Dawn Jamieson, a team manager for the local authority, said: “There’s no excuse for fly-tipping, which is a blatant disregard of the law and of our outdoor environment.
“No one wants to see rubbish dumped and it has a direct impact on the condition of our roads, parks, wildlife and communities.
“Anyone caught disposing of their waste illegally will receive a £200 fixed penalty notice,” she added.
“Major offenders may be referred directly to the Procurator Fiscal and could incur fines of up to £40,000.
People can report incidents by filling out a form at www.fife.gov.uk/flytipping or calling 03451 55 00 22.