A STREET in Higginshaw, Oldham has been cleaned by the council after reports rats were ‘running in the gardens’.

Dumped rubbish on Thames Street, Higginshaw had begun to clog the alleyways and pile up outside homes in the area.

A resident from the neighbourhood contacted The Oldham Times to say they had called the council “numerous times”, but “nothing” had been done.

They added: “It’s absolutely disgusting we have elderly residents who live here, and something needs to be done.

“We have rats running in the gardens I can't even let my children out in the garden”.

Shocking pictures sent by the resident show mounds of fly-tipped rubbish, including stuffed black bin bags, lining walls and alleys.

In response to the complaints, councillor Amanda Chadderton, cabinet member for neighbourhoods, said: “We take all reports of fly-tipping very seriously in Oldham, including the report on Thames Street, because we know how strongly our residents feel about this selfish and illegal act.

“That’s why our Environmental Services are already working as fast as they can to resolve every report that comes in to help eradicate this blight on our borough.

“While this report has now been resolved, we would like to apologise to the resident for not acting on the report sooner.

“However, we wouldn’t be in this situation if a few individuals stopped dumping their waste and kept expecting the taxpayer to clear up after them.

“We’ve just had to invest £1.27m in a new street cleaning campaign – Don’t Trash Oldham – to tackle issues just like fly-tipping to ensure Oldham is kept clean.

“But we can’t keep coming back to clean up and we will take action against those who think they can leave waste and rubbish.”

The council will be in St Mary’s ward next July as part of our Don’t Trash Oldham campaign to conduct an area clean-up.

Residents can report fly-tipping on the council website.