A private investigator on a walk at Oldham Edge has discovered evidence leading to enforcement action for fly-tippers.

Liam Grady, who lives near the beauty spot, spotted the rubbish, which included bricks and a mattress, near the former Whitehouse Inn pub.

The 54-year-old said: “It’s shocking, isn’t it? Because there are two ways of looking at it – an innocent person who thinks they paid someone legitimately, which I would say in most instances is the case.

“But in the instance where a person’s stood there and they’ve got a price off someone, the lad who’s doing it for a living is charging a lot more than the lad who’s just tipped it there, so the individual has gone for the cheaper price, haven’t they?

“At the end of the day, me and you are picking up the tab for that to be picked up, aren’t we?”

Mr Grady said he has seen fly-tipping at the location before, as he frequently goes on walks in the area.

He added: “It needs to be gated. I don’t know who the turning circle belongs to, but it needs a gate going across so they can’t do it."

Discarded evidence

As he was looking at the fly-tipping, Mr Grady, a private investigator by trade, said he saw personal details in the rubbish.

He said: “I only photographed it because I saw the address of the person who’d done it.

“You see that now and again, don’t you – where people are that naive, they don’t realise that the post is in with all the rubbish."

Council taking action

The council said it was taking enforcement action in light of the report.

Council leader Amanda Chadderton said: “Sadly fly-tipping, dumping of waste and littering happens all over the country, not just in Oldham.

“As a council, we have invested extra resources into tackling the issue via Don’t Trash Oldham and our campaign continues to make a real difference for residents.

“Our officers have already investigated this latest report and have recovered evidence, so we will now be taking enforcement action.

“We encourage anyone in the local area who may have any CCTV footage to get in touch with our Environmental Services and help with our investigation.

“We also want to remind residents who pay someone to take away their rubbish, to check the person has a waste carriers licence. If they don’t and the waste is later found dumped, then you could be the one in trouble.

“We need more people to report fly-tipping to us so action can be taken, and we need everyone to do their bit in looking after their communities.”