THIS was the scene after fly-tippers dumped a lorryload of household waste and tree cuttings in the middle of a road.

Those responsible have been slammed for putting lives at risk after ditching the waste on the road towards Martley from Ankerdine Road.

The fly-tip was reported to Malvern Hills District Council on Friday, and council staff initially moved the waste to the side of the road.

Subsequently a specialist cleaning crew was set out on Monday and removed the waste.

Cllr Bronwen Behan, the council's environment portfolio holder, said: “Those responsible for dumping this waste not only broke the law but recklessly endangered the lives of motorists using that road. If anyone has any information about who is responsible for this, hen I would urge them to report it to us.

“Fly-tipping is not a harmless crime. It costs the taxpayer and landowners money to deal with, inconveniences the public and, as in this case, can be dangerous. We investigate all major fly-tips and where we find evidence we will prosecute.”

Residents are also being urged to play their part in tackling fly-tipping by ensuring they only use authorised people or companies to take away their waste.

If they do not and their waste is later illegally dumped, then they could be prosecuted, as under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, people have a duty of care to ensure their waste is properly disposed of.

Residents should check that the individual or company they are using has a proper waste carrier licence, which they can do by visiting gov.uk/find-registered-waste-carrier.

Fly-tipping can be reported by visiting malvernhills.gov.uk/report-it.