Canal and River Trust chiefs blast fly-tippers who have piled up a stack of rubbish by the canal in Harborough

Canal and River Trust chiefs have today blasted fly-tippers who have piled up a stack of rubbish by the canal in Market Harborough.

The organisation which looks after canals all over the country branded it very “frustrating” and “disgusting” that the problem has blown up yet again just feet from Greenacres travellers’ site.

The Trust has hit out after “eco-criminals” dumped the pile of waste on to the canal bank and towpath to the north of Market Harborough.

The culprits have struck again less than a year after household and building rubbish along with human excreta was piled up on the same spot.

The Canal and River Trust today thanked the Harborough Mail for spotlighting the new environmental crisis which is outraging residents.

“Thanks for raising this. It’s so frustrating that this has happened again. And it is disgusting that people seem to think that this is an acceptable way to treat the canal,” a Trust spokesman told the Mail.

“We don’t own the land in question.

“But we have been in contact with the council (Harborough District Council) about this.

“And we hope that action can be taken as quickly as possible to prevent this from happening again.”

The town’s latest fly-tipping incident has been exposed by eco activist Peter Pollak, 76.

“This is nothing short of despicable, it’s absolutely disgusting.

“We had to fight so hard last March to get the first lot of stinking trash and garbage removed and now it’s happened again,” said Peter, of the Open Spaces group, the UK’s oldest leading conservation society, earlier this week.

“I cannot believe that this deplorable crime is being committed all over again.

“I was walking along by the canal with my wife Fran when we spotted this terrible mess the other day.

“It really is an ugly blot on the landscape.

“Domestic and building rubbish has been scattered all over – and there’s at least one bike been dumped too.

“We were horrified to see this horrible sight,” said Peter, a retired insurance surveyor and devoted lifelong hiker.

“It looks as if it’s just been thrown over the fence at the travellers’ site at Greenacres.

“I immediately alerted Harborough District Council and am calling on them to act now alongside the Canal & River Trust.

“The people who are doing this should be ashamed.

“This is a blatant eco-crime and the irresponsible fools who think this is all right should be punished and made to pay.

“This sort of scandalous onslaught against the environment has a savage impact on wildlife and nature as well,” insisted Peter, who lives in Market Harborough.

“Runners, walkers and cyclists go along that canal path every day.

“It’s a stunning slice of our countryside on the outskirts of Market Harborough - and we should be doing all we can to defend and protect it.

“This is entirely inexcusable and I’m sick of it.”

Angry Cllr Phil King, the leader of Harborough council, told the Mail: “This is truly awful, it’s horrendous.

“I want the people who are doing this to stop doing it now.

“And I would tell them to come and help clean up their mess as well – that would be even better.

“Waste does not dissolve, it doesn’t just decompose and go away,” said Cllr King.

“How does anyone think it’s OK to tip this rubbish when they should be doing it properly and legally?

“It’s very disappointing that we are confronting this tipping problem on that stretch of the canal at Market Harborough again after having to sort it out last spring.

“We are striving and working non-stop day in day out to keep Harborough clean, green and beautiful.

“But we can’t fight this battle all by ourselves, we need all the help from the people of our district that we can get.”

Cllr Phil Knowles, who leads the Liberal Democrats on Harborough council, said: “This isn’t good enough.

“In fact it’s a slap in the face for our entire community in and around Market Harborough.

“Our council has to take swift and urgent action to tackle this issue now.

“Those responsible have to be brought to book.

“This sort of fly-tipping is totally intolerable and it’s dangerous – particularly to those being forced to clear it up,” stressed Cllr Knowles.

“The council has to take the necessary enforcement action to clean up our canal.

“And I’d urge anyone with any information about the offenders to pass that on to the council now so that they face the consequences.”

Harborough council said they are now working with the Canal & River Trust – which operates the Grand Union Canal – to remove the pile of junk.

Cllr Jonathan Bateman, Harborough council’s Cabinet lead for Planning, Environment & Waste, said: “We believe this has become visible due to less vegetation at this time of year and are liaising with the Canal and River Trust with a view to them assisting with this clear up as soon as possible.

“This is on private land.

“However, we will be carrying out a further site visit to look at how we can reduce any further issues.”