The reopening of a KFC store in Farnworth has led to the area becoming a 'disgusting' dumping ground for fast-food litter, according to residents.

The Albert Road takeaway has reopened for delivery and drive-thru, but the sheer volume of customers has caused concern for some residents.

They say the huge volumes of customers wanting their fried chicken fix has led to people causing parking problems on nearby residential streets and people leaving their food waste behind.

One resident, who didn't want to be named, said: “Their carpark is used as a drive thru and every evening it is packed full of cars. The road is really dangerous and now its even more dangerous when their customers are parking down our narrow street.

“Some part right by the junction and others block our access out of the street There’s huge amounts of litter all over the place, it’s disgusting. I’ve also seen a lot of rats because there’s rubbish everywhere.”

Cllr Paul Sanders, leader of Farnworth and Kearsley First, said: “It’s understandable that residents of neighbouring residential streets would feel frustration that vehicles trying to access KFC are waiting on their streets.Albert Grove in particular is a really tight cul-de-sac.

“I’ve personally seen that KFC have two security personnel controlling and snaking vehicles around the car park before they enter the drive through proper.

“Limited space and a big demand is the likely issue here. I would ask the public try to not use surrounding streets to park up and wait and if possible return later if you judge that the KFC carpark is extremely busy."

He added: "There is absolutely no excuse for litter - there is no excuse at any time. Again, I plead that people be considerate and responsible and take their food and litter home.”

A spokesman for KFC said: "We're really pleased to see the poeple of Bolton have missed us and we're glad to be back - but we hate to ruffle feathers! Being a good neighbour is important to us so we've been asking our guests to park responsibly and carefully when the car park is full.

"We've also been in touch with out local EHO who are supportive of the actions we've been taking with extra litter picks in the area, however we'd encourage our guests to take their litter with them or put it in the bin where possible."