A MUM has told of her disgust after a family picnic at a popular beauty spot was spoiled by thoughtless fly-tippers.

Lisa Hunt had taken her four-year-old son, Oliver, to Moses Gate Country Park for what should have been an enjoyable day in the outdoors.

But Mrs Hunt, of Plodder Lane, Farnworth, said she was horrified when little Oliver pointed out several bin bags floating just above the weir in the River Croal, which flows around the east of the park.

“He said ‘What’s that, Mummy, near the water?’,” said Mrs Hunt.

“You can’t really lie, I had to say some naughty person has thrown rubbish in the river rather than in the bin.”

“It was full of it, disgusting. We go down there a lot having a four-year-old in nursery we went for a picnic on walk down to the park you just walk right past it.

“It’s just sad having to explain to a four-year-old that naughty people throw rubbish in nice places, and these people spoil places for the rest of us.”

Mrs Hunt, who also often walks her dog in the park, said she is also concerned about the impact fly- tipping could have on wildlife at the park.

She added: “It just makes you feel sad for the wildlife. Every time I’ve been down there ducks have been swimming around the top of the weir, but there were none there because of the rubbish.”

Mrs Hunt, who is aged 37 and works as a midwife, said she believes the council’s controversial ‘slim bin’ could be a factor in people resorting to fly-tipping.

“Fly-tipping, mattresses, items that you can see from the picture are all bin bags. That’s residential rubbish I would think, tradespeople don’t put rubbish in bin bags. I would say that’s domestic waste from someone’s home.

"Bigger bins would be nice but that’s never going to happen maybe some communal place where people can dump rubbish, maybe a dropping-off point for people who are struggling with excess waste.

Mrs Hunt, who is married to husband Dan and is also mum to 12-year-old Will, said measures to help people struggling to manage their household waste would be welcome.

And she would also like to see Bolton Council make it easier for members of the public to report fly -tipping.

“Bolton Council website for reporting fly-tipping is so long winded , lot of bits to fill in. It should be more simple than that. What’s wrong with an email as long as you send a location and maybe your phone number. There’s no need for it to be so drawn out."

Bolton Council has been contacted for a comment.