Boscombe residents are frustrated that the roads around Churchill Gardens are covered in rubbish and have called the area a fly-tipping hotspot.

Ralph Grundy has lived in Churchill Gardens for 30 years.

He complained that people have dumped fridges, garden furniture, and asbestos.

And that the area is treated like a rubbish dump.

The 63-year-old said the litter attracts rats, seagulls, pigeons, and squirrels, which can be seen in and around the area bordering a playpark.

On one occasion, a bin was even filled with bricks - which dustmen could not easily remove, according to residents.

In 2016, the BCP Council reportedly swapped individual bins with communal bins.

The fly-tipping is so severe that people in wheelchairs and buggies struggle to walk on pavement.

The issue escalated following the festive season, with bins filled to capacity and rubbish strewn across the streets.

BCP Council have said that the bins are emptied on average three times a week, and clear the storage areas. 

The local authority cleared a haul of trash this week, however, residents maintain that the collections are becoming less and less frequent.

Ralph, who is retired, said: "The situation is not getting better; it's always going to be a problem because people want to get rid of their rubbish, and they come from far and wide to do so."

Adam Playfair, the treasurer of the Churchill Gardens Community Association, said: "It is a spiralling problem; as we have come to Christmas, it has got massively out of control."

He added: "The development of the play park is impacted by the situation; frankly, parents are not going to want their kids running around near the bins because it is not safe."

Residents contacted the Councillor for Boscombe West, Patrick Canavan, to help resolve the problem.

Cllr Patrick Canavan said: "There has been an ongoing issue with fly-tipping in the area, and I have been trying to get the council to do something in relation to identifying those people who are doing it.

"The current situation is the worst I have ever seen it.

It has been exacerbated by the fact that the bins haven't been emptied properly during the holiday period."

The Daily Echo has contacted BCP Council for comment.

A BCP Spokesperson said: "We are aware that there has been some inappropriate use of the communal bins at Churchill Gardens, with individuals leaving items of household waste in the storage area.

"We have recently requested our Waste Investigation Support and Enforcement (WISE) contractors to increase their patrols in this area.

“If people can come forward with evidence – particularly vehicle registrations of perpetrators – then the chances of a successful enforcement action increase greatly."