PLASTIC bottles, aerosols and mountains of bin bags are among the items lining a once-clean alleyway used by Birkenhead residents.

Fed-up householders whose homes back onto the entry between Mallaby Street and Portland Street are calling for action to catch those responsible for dumping the waste.

One resident, who has lived on Mallaby Street for more than 50 years, said: "It is just an absolute mess – people just keep adding to it and throwing more rubbish onto it.

"We can’t blame the council as the council lads are coming out on the wagon and clearing it up but they said that as soon as they leave, there's a bag there and then another bag – it's like a tip and once someone sees a tip, they just add to it.

"Something needs to be done. In all the years I have lived here I have never seen anything like it and when the summer comes, we’re going to have foxes and rats – it's going to get really smelly.

"Dogs are ripping the bags open so the rubbish is just pouring everywhere - it's horrendous."

Councillors described the fly-tipping as the "irresponsible actions" of a minority, impacting on the lives of others who deserve to live in a clean, litter-free neighbourhood.

Wirral’s cabinet member for the environment, Cllr Brian Kenny, said he sympathised with the residents.

He told the Globe: "Reductions in funding from the Government make it more and more difficult for us to clean up after people who fly tip and arbitrarily dump rubbish.

"Working with the Birkenhead Constituency Team, we are looking at a number of areas in Birkenhead that are having particular problems, with a view to them taking part in a pilot scheme which will trial new approaches to preventing fly-tipping and promote correct use of our waste collection systems.”

Funding has also been set aside for a new investigation team which will enable the council to track down and prosecute those who illegally dump waste.

Councillor Kenny added: "In particular, there are plans to crack down on less responsible private landlords and building contractors who commit criminal offences by using the alleyways as their own personal disposal site."