A HUGE mound of rubbish dumped in woods has been blamed on increased queues at a nearby tip.

The spate of fly-tipping at Raikes Clough has been linked to increased waiting times at the Raikes Lane recycling centre by UKIP councillor Paul Richardson.

The Little Lever and Darcy Lever representative says that queues at the centre have gone up since the rollout of slim bins across Bolton last year, which he believes has prompted frustrated residents to dump their rubbish on the nearby land.

Bolton Council denies that there has been a significant increase in queuing at the tip and says that cameras may be installed at the Raikes Clough site to catch offenders.

Cllr Richardson said: "My view is that this fly-tipping is obviously linked to the location of the tip around the corner.

"Since the introduction of the slim bins more people have been going to the tip, so the queues and waiting times there are getting longer.

"There are obviously people who don't want to wait, so they are lobbing their rubbish over the fence.

"It can't be a coincidence that there is so much fly-tipping at this location. If the tip weren't there then you would struggle to find it.

"The council is in denial on the consequences of the slim bins and the amount of fly-tipping in the borough.

"This is a piece of council land that is awash with rubbish, it completely belies everything the council says about fly-tipping."

Cllr Nick Peel, the council's executive cabinet member for environmental services, says that opposition councillors are "making excuses" for fly-tippers.

He said: "We know the figures for the Raikes Lane recycling centre, and it hasn't particularly gone up.

"There hasn't been a sharp rise, but there have traditionally been queues there just because of how the business works.

"What I think some of the opposition party councillors are doing is making excuses for fly-tippers.

"There is never any excuse for fly-tipping and to defend it is absolutely ridiculous.

"Fly-tipping is an issue in Bolton, as with every other town in Britain. The council's duty is catch fly-tippers, not make excuses for them."

A council spokesman added: “Fly-tipping is irresponsible, dangerous and shows a blatant disregard for local people.

“The council takes a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping and will always aim to prosecute or fine anyone found to be unlawfully dumping waste.

"There is a longstanding problem with fly-tipping in this area and we are constantly looking at preventative measures such as cameras to stop people dumping their waste there.

“We would encourage all residents to report fly-tips to the council and also any information which might help us identify those responsible for anti-social enviro-crimes such as this.”

The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority did not comment on the recycling centre queues.