RESIDENTS have been left concerned after a road in the Cottingley area has been subject to alleged fly tipping.

The rubbish runs for more than a mile on Lee Lane, from the junction of Cottingley Moor Road to the junction with Cross Lane.

A nearby resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "There looks to be about 90 bags altogether. It's mostly black bin liners with soil spilling out, all along both sides of the road, but there are piles of other rubbish and big silver tubes too."

"I've never seen anything like it. People are saying it's cannabis growing equipment. That amount of rubbish and heavy bags of soil must have taken a huge effort to tip along such a long stretch of road. It's totally brazen and absolutely outrageous."

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Another resident, who also did not wish to be named, added, "This area does seem to be a particular target for fly tippers, because it's so rural. They think they can get away with it, but people still live here and it's totally unacceptable."

"Something needs to be done to discourage people from doing this and make them fear the consequences."

Councillor John Goode, of the Cottingley Ward, said, "Fly tipping is totally unacceptable and it's a nightmare to deal with."

"I find it disgusting. I cannot understand why people do it and why they don't just go to a waste disposal site."

"It seems like it's happening all the time and becoming more common, and that's because rubbish only attracts more rubbish."

Councillor Ashraf Miah, also of the Cottingley Ward, recognised that fly tipping is becoming a "Major issue across the district."

"This issue needs to be tackled. There are plenty of household waste recycling centres where people can dispose of rubbish legally."

Naveed Riaz, Conservative Councillor for the Bingley Rural Ward, argued that "Tougher sentences" are the solution to what he describes as an incident that is starting to happen on a "Regular basis."

"Every week, fly tipping is affecting one local village or another and it is becoming the norm. It happens here as this is a rural area with a lot of discrete locations."

"Lee Lane, where this particular incident took place, is a hotspot for fly tipping, while it happens in places like Wilsden on an almost weekly basis."

"We should move away from just imposing fines on fly tippers as that is not working - community service is the way forward, as are tougher sentences and investment in hidden cameras, which have been used in some locations."