Alan P Whittaker shares his views and shocking pictures taken this week of fly-tipping in Baguley.
It was 1968 when I left my home on Bowland Road, South Manchester at the age of 16. Just recently, I made a return visit to my birthplace but I was in for a shock ~ at the rear of my childhood home, there are about 10 concrete garages. The local shop- keepers once used them for storage but now they are in a sorry state. This is where we used to play as kids.
The same site is now a sea of stinking refuse; 8 feet high teetering piles of sodden, vermin infested builders waste and domestic filth …………
Now it is used as a fly tip for rubbish, household appliances, garden waste – you name it. It is there, piled high for all to see. How times have changed for the worse. In my day there was little or no rubbish. If anybody had anything that was too big or awkward to dispose of, they called the local council and arrangements were made to come and collect the unwanted rubbish, at no cost to the owner.
As for public health it has other hazardous consequences, such as toxic gases, that are part of the internal compartments of items such as fridges, and freezers. Not to mention a huge fire hazard, and combusted materials in the household furniture.
As this is a public area it is wide-open to children who may come too into contact, or even bitten by rodents/vermin that feed off the rotten garbage that is left there. I wouldn’t like this on my conscience if there were to be an outbreak of some infectious disease.
It wouldn’t take much for this to go up in smoke being in a confined small area, with houses in the immediate background and surrounding area. If this rubbish were to catch fire, there could be fatalities.
The general public has a moral obligation not only to themselves, but to respect the environment. However, I feel the local authority also has a legal obligation to remove this garbage.
Do you live in this area? What do you think? Are there fly-tipping problems in other parts of Wythenshawe? Let us know. Email wythenshawereporter@wythenshawereporter.com