AN EMPTY property in Heaton has become home to a pile of rubbish on an “industrial scale”.

The home, in Jedburgh Avenue, has been vacant for around six weeks, since the previous resident moved out.

Ian Humphries, who lives in the house next door, said the problems began almost immediately after the property became empty when a small pile of rubbish was left in the garden by the previous owners.

People began to add to the pile and, over the next few weeks, more waste was thrown into the areas around the property.

Mr Humphries said he and his father, Chris Humphries had called Bolton Council’s waste department four times since the problems began but have since been informed that the property is the responsibility of Bolton at Home.

He added: “It’s on an industrial scale and no one seems to care which is the worst part of it. It’s got beyond a joke now and something needs to be done.”

Representatives from Bolton at Home visited the property last week and removed most of the rubbish from the front garden to allow space to put up scaffolding ahead of completing work at the front of the building.

However, Mr Humphries said the people who removed the mess had left a similar-sized pile at the rear of the building.

The father has two children living at home with him and, while his house is not owned by Bolton at Home, it is connected to the empty property.

He explained that recent warm weather had made the pile begin to smell and had led to flies gathering around both the empty home and his own garden, making it difficult to sit outside.

A spokesman for Bolton at Home, which manages Bolton Council's housing stock, confirmed that the housing association owned the property and said it would be looking to clear the fly-tipping this week.

They added: “It is a Bolton at Home property that is currently unoccupied. We have made arrangements for a specialist contractor to clear the rubbish.”