RESIDENTS of a traveller's site on the outskirts of Worcester have claimed the city council has refused to clear a massive pile of fly-tipped waste near their homes.

Fly tipping has been a perennial problem in Offerton Lane and residents living on the site have complained that, although the waste was previously cleared up by officers from Worcester City Council, nothing had been done to shift an ever-growing pile of rubbish since before Christmas.

Shirley Smith, who lives at the site, said she had her neighbours were becoming increasingly angry about the problem.

"There must be 70 tonnes of it there by now," she said.

"My son phoned the council asking when it was going to be cleaned up and he was told they had put a hold on any clean-up on the site.

"I don't know why - I wonder if it's because we're gypsies.

"My mother has cancer and the district nurses have to walk onto the site because they can't get through."

But a Worcester City Council spokesman said the authority was continuing the clean up the rubbish as normal.

“There is a persistent problem with fly-tipping in this area and steps we have taken in the past have not stopped the problem re-occurring," he said.

"We are now talking to other agencies such as the police and the county council about what can be done to tackle this issue.

"In the meantime we are ensuring that the path is still accessible, despite the presence of the fly-tipped rubbish.”