WINDOW frames, used nappies and a sofa were among a huge pile of rubbish dumped close to a Bolton tip — in one of the worst cases of fly-tipping seen in the town.

The latest pictures come just a week after a "man and van" firm was fined £465 for dumping waste in the same spot — close to Raikes Lane recycling centre — in December.

Now calls have been made for tougher penalties for offenders as fly-tipping cases soar in Bolton.

Bolton Council environment chief Cllr Nick Peel said: "The courts in Bolton are very supportive of our policy of tackling fly-tipping and the perpetrators of it — but I would like to see tougher fines handed out.”

Campaigners from pressure group Keep Britain Today are also calling on the government to introduce fixed penalties of £1,000 for people who dump bulky goods.

The latest photographs were taken by 24-year-old dog walker Jade Riley who was horrified to find used nappies among the many discarded items in Aqueduct Road.

Ms Riley, who lives in The Haulgh and runs her own photography firm, said: “I usually walk my dog around Leverhulme Park but I decided to go down to the Aqueduct Road area for a change because I remembered it being quite nice when I was younger.

“I will not be going back there — what I found was horrendous, there were loads of tyres, bags full of rubbish and used nappies.

“Myself and my dog were both having to dodge it all."

Last week, Bolton Magistrates Court heard that Gareth Booth was paid £30 to clear a haul of bin bags, children's play equipment, the broken remains of a bathroom suite and a dismantled wardrobe from a disabled couple's home.

But instead of disposing of the waste responsibly, he dumped it just yards from the tip. As well as being fined, he was landed with court costs of £1,836.

Ms Riley shared the latest pictures online.

She added: "It went crazy on Facebook, with lots of people sharing it — I wanted to make people realise that if you are paying someone £20 to get rid of a load of rubbish, it is not going to end up where it should.”

Fly-tipping increased by 30 per cent last year in Bolton, with more than 4,000 incidents reported across the town.

Keep Britain Tidy is now calling for more action.

Chief executive Richard McIlwain said: “It’s high time the government started to take it seriously.

"We need a really effective minister for litter — one who is prepared to introduce a national litter strategy, increase fines for littering and introduce a £1,000 fixed-penalty notice for fly-tipping.”

Cllr Peel added: "In Bolton, most low-grade fly-tipping or littering will see the person receive a fixed penalty notice and there are guidelines as to how much that may be.

“But people who are more serious fly-tippers or those who refuse to pay will be taken to court and they will get fines of hundreds of pounds.

“The problem is that I don’t think a person walking down the street who drops litter is thinking that they don’t mind getting an £80 fine.

“They think that no one will challenge them or they simply don’t care. I’m not sure that the threat of a fixed penalty notice would necessarily deter them.”

Environmental campaigner Chris Banks, from Breightmet, who who carries out litter picking sessions across the borough, said the main problem was residents paying “exploitative people" to take away their rubbish.

He said: “There are a lot of people who don’t drive and so they pay £30 to a man with a van who is taking advantage of these people.

“I would back the idea of the idea of harsher fines but it should be that person, the man with the van, who gets the fine.

“Unfortunately Bolton Council’s plan to switch to smaller grey waste bins will only increase this problem.

"We will see more rubbish being dumped and it is our country parks and beauty spots that will suffer.”