A back alley dubbed the ‘dirtiest alleyway in Blackburn’ has been cleared of rubbish and fly-tipping.

But barely a month after it was cleared more rubbish bags were piling up again.

In September the strip of land behind Cardwell Place had discarded furniture, bin bags and rubbish dating back two years according to residents and business owners.

There was so much rubbish piled up it was impossible to walk through.

As well attracting vermin it had become an eyesore in the town centre and is a stone's throw away from the new multi-million pound Reel Cinemas complex which is being built in the area.

Then on October 4 Blackburn with Darwen Council cleared the alleyway and we photographed it again on November 4.

This week bags were piled up in a section of the alleyway.

A business owner said the council had cleared this area eight to ten times in previous years but people continue to use it as a dumping ground right in the heart of the town centre.

Another resident told us that part of the alleyway is council owned and the rest of land that is ‘unadopted’.

Ali Shah who runs Nadeem’s Store said: “People are just dumping their bin bags here and old furniture.

“Some of this from people who live here I would say. As there are flats on this stretch when old furniture and fridges is taken out it is just dumped around the back.

“For us this has been constant issue. We had rats here in the alleyway and it was huge problem for a long time.

“I just want to urge everyone to be more responsible. We want to keep it clean.

“I think the fact that people have to make an appointment to dump their rubbish at the recycling centre has not helped.”

A resident we spoke to who had recently moved into a flat on Cardwell Place said she could not access the alleyway but had seen bin bags being dumped there.

Mr Ahmed of Star Properties whose property backs on to area where the rubbish is being dumped said he did not blame the council and put the focus on irresponsible people, “We are fed up with this. Soon after it is cleared people start throwing bags here again.

“The only thing that will stop people is if a gate is placed on the end of the alleyway.

Mr Ahmed said his company only managed one flat on the stretch which is made up less than ten properties and businesses.

He said: “It is easy to blame the people on this street but you can see how many bags appear in such a short space of time. There are hardly many properties here to make such a mess in such a short space of time.

“People are coming here from outside of the area and dumping their rubbish.”

A council spokesperson said: “This flytipping was obviously a huge eyesore for the residents and was a disgusting act by whoever did this. It is anti-social and shows no respect for the community or the borough as a whole.

"We will always come out and clean up in situations like this on our land when we are made aware of them and we are pleased to get rid of this mess for all concerned. We will also look into this latest incident. Anyone caught flytipping will be given a hefty fine of up to £50,000 or six months imprisonment or both."

To report incidents of flytipping, contact: (01254) 585921 or email: cleansing@blackburn.gov.uk