“Environmental vandals” have illegally dumped mountains of commercial waste on what has been labelled Fife’s most fly-tipped street.
Builders’ rubble, garden and household waste have been piled more than six feet high at Heatherywood Road near Thornton.
Included in the wagon-loads of rubbish are old three-piece suites, old lorry wheels, and garden fencing.
One pile even contains medical support for a broken leg among swathes of commercial and household rubbish discarded by the roadside.
Thornton fly-tippers branded ‘environmental vandals’
Fife Councillor Ross Vettraino, who represents Glenrothes Central, told The Courier called the fly-tippers “environmental vandals”.
“Those responsible continue to carry out this criminal activity without regard for the environment or the local community,” he said.
“They inflict this misery on society and are nothing short of environmental vandals.”
However, he admitted that deterring fly-tipping would continue to be difficult without tougher punishments and fines.
“It’s a difficult issue to tackle, as many of those responsible fly-tip under the cover of darkness,” he added.
“Bigger fines and punishments may well stop many from illegally dumping waste.
“Cameras have been installed previously at places including Heatherywood but they were vandalised within days.
Public urged to remain alert for Fife waste handlers
“I’d urge the public to remain vigilant but also question those offering to remove your waste for a suspiciously low fee.
“Ask to see their waste handling licenses.
“If it sounds like a bargain it’s likely to be suspicious.
“Ultimately it’s the community that pays the price with large sums of public money inevitably needed to clean up the mess.”
Heatherywood Road has been a magnet for illegal dumpers in recent years.
It has previously been regarded as Fife’s most fly-tipped street.
Meanwhile, MSPs recently rejected proposals to increase fines for fly-tipping offences.
Dawn Jamieson, Fife Council’s safer communities manager, said: “We are investigating fly-tipping instances at Heatherywood, which have been escalating in recent months.
“The fly-tipping is occurring on private land, and it is the landowner’s responsibility to clean it up.
“However, we are working with SEPA and other Fife Council colleagues to try and assist in finding ways to reach a long-term solution.
Illegal dumping is ‘blatant disregard for the law’
“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 in the countryside.
“It has a direct impact on the condition of our parks, wildlife and areas where we live.
“Anyone caught disposing of their waste illegally will receive a £500 fixed penalty notice.”
The council is urging anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report it.
Meanwhile in Perth and Kinross, a Carse of Gowrie fly-tipper was recently labelled a ‘scourge on society’.
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