FLY-TIPPERS were caught dumping carpets in an alleyway ­— from a branded company van.

The men, who were driving a George Cox & Sons engineering and construction firm van, were spotted by a resident who was outside smoking.

Despite being seen, he said they carried on unloading the carpet.

A picture of the reportedly tipped carpets was shared on social media and staff at the firm promised to look into it.

The neighbour who witnessed the incident said: “I went to my back gate for a cigarette thought it was my neighbour. They even saw me and carried on.”

The carpets were left in an alley behind Manchester Road in Kearsley on Thursday evening.

The witness added: “They shot out past me. That’s when I saw the name on the van and realised what they had done.”

After the image of the carpets was shared on social media a member of staff said they would look into the allegation. The waste was collected and cleared Friday morning.

Paul Harris, commercial and contracts manager at the firm, said: “Fly-tipping is illegal and we have immediately cleared the waste in question and apologised to the landowner.

“We recognise what’s happened and we’re dealing with it internally.”

The neighbour who reported the incident, said: “The company has cleared it up to be fair to them.”

Bolton Council has been praised for its zero-tolerance approach to the crime. In 2016/17 it dealt with a total of 2,065 incidents of fly-tipping, totalling more than 962 tonnes dumped.