COUNCILLORS have called for Greater Manchester to follow Wigan’s lead and "immediately" reopen its 20 tips to combat a spike of flytipping in the region.

Cllr Howard Sykes, who leads the Liberal Democrat opposition group on Oldham Council, has written to the town hall arguing that what is "good enough" for Wigan should be the same for all residents.

And Cllr Nathan Evans, Trafford’s Conservative opposition group leader says he believes the decision to close recycling centres was ‘made in haste’ and without consultation with political leaders.

It comes after Wigan council announced on Friday it was opening its three recycling centres back up to the public.

As a unitary local authority, Wigan has control over its own waste disposal.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which runs recycling centres on behalf of the other nine boroughs, shut its 20 centres on March 24.

To date they remain closed to residents over concerns about social distancing.

Cllr Sykes made the call following a spike in flytipping across the region in the weeks after the coronavirus lockdown, and tip closures, were implemented.

He said: “Other authorities across the UK are still providing these services.

“Wigan borough council has now reopened its refuse facilities – why can’t the rest of Greater Manchester councils do the same?”

He would like to see Oldham’s tip – the Arkwright Street facility – reopened in a "safe and orderly" way.

“If it is good enough for Wigan then it is good enough for Oldham,” Cllr Sykes added.

“I really do hope these pleas are listened to and actioned in a safe and controlled manner so we can get back on track with normality.”

A number of councils, including Rochdale, Tameside, Wigan and Salford, reported a spike in the amount of flytipping their staff were having to deal with since lockdown began.

Pictures revealed overflowing bin bags, sodden duvets, mattresses, broken furniture, tyres and even toilet roll dumped at beauty spots, beside the road and by people’s homes.

Tameside council said it had seen more than 300 incidents of flytipping since the coronavirus restrictions came into force.

In Trafford, residents say the issue of tip closures has also exacerbated issues with bin collections in the borough which pre-date the Covid-19 crisis.

People have voiced concerned that rats and other vermin will migrate to their neighbourhoods as they claim their bins haven’t been emptied ‘for weeks’.

Cllr Evans said: “I believe that the decision to close the recycling centres was not fully discussed and one which is leading to an increase of flytipping in Trafford and across Greater Manchester.

“This is the wrong approach, especially when authorities, including Trafford council, are asking staff to turn up and do essential work day in and day out.

“Recycling centres are essential and the decision to close should be reviewed immediately.

“Social distancing should be adopted and the operation run safely, both for those who work and those accessing the service.”

He said he hoped a U-turn on the decision would reduce pressures on teams dealing with flytipping, and bring relief to residents worried about ‘flies and rats’.

It is understood that discussions are ongoing within the combined authority on the issue of whether to reopen Greater Manchester’s recycling centres.

A spokesperson for the combined authority said last week: “GMCA are reviewing the options with the nine council leaders and our contractor SUEZ, in line with guidance from DEFRA.”

The GMCA said that over the weekend before lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, more than 46,000 people visited its 20 recycling centres.

This made it "extremely difficult to follow the government advice on social distancing", and the priority was to make sure staff are safe and well, bosses said.