THIS FESTERING pile of rubbish in an alley off Boscombe's Haviland Road has been blighting residents' lives for months.

Fridges, freezers, washing machines, furniture, bedding, household rubbish, children's toys, hazardous waste and even a bar have been lurking on an area dubbed a 'legalised fly tip' by hacked off local homeowners.

At one point the pile was so big you could see it on Google Earth.

But not anymore.

In its first week of operation, the new BCP Council’s Targeted Enforcement Team has pulled off its first major achievement -removing the mountain of fly tipped garbage.

Head of Communities, Enforcement and Regulatory Services BCP Council Kelly Ansell, said the land was unadopted, with no registered owner.

"Dubbed the ‘the broken window effect’ the amount of fly tipped rubbish rapidly increased in a short time and quickly tripled in size – even rumoured to be visible from space - leading to increased clean-up costs," she said.

Ms Ansell said the council had to 'work proactively' to address the issue, with council officers engaging with multiple individuals with a potential interest in the site. "Following recently approved planning permission, they successfully ascertained the responsible parties and obtained an agreement for the owner to clear the site and pay for the removal of materials," she said.

However, she thanked the land owner for agreeing to deal with the issue and for organising a company to come and remove the waste.

"We faced every obstacle imaginable with this case and it’s great to see it finally come to a successful conclusion," she said.

"Flytipping is often a difficult issue to investigate and resolve and we are keen to encourage landowners to take all available measures to protect their property. We also encourage residents with any evidence of fly tipping to report it to us as soon as possible.”

*To report flytipping in the new BCP area contact bournemouth.gov.uk/binsrecycling/StreetCleaning/Flytipping.aspx