A DARWEN street is being turned into a ‘slum’ by people fly tipping in the back alley, according to a local councillor.

Sudell councillor Roy Davies branded the alley behind Preston Street as ‘the dirtiest in the borough’ in April last year.

And 10 months on things still haven’t improved, with piles of binbags and a mattress dumped there yesterday morning.

Rubbish dumped in the back yard of one house in the road was set alight on Thursday night, with firefighters from Darwen station called to put out the flames.

Coun Davies said there was a big problem in certain back alleys in the town.

He said: “It is the same streets and the same backs every time.

“I seem to be reporting the same addresses time and time again.

“If people know who is tipping they have got to report it to the council and tell them who is doing it.

“That area has become a slum.”

Coun Davies said the number of houses being rented was a big problem.

He said: “There is a lot of rented accommodation in that area.

“We have got to look at ways of getting people to buy homes rather than renting as when people own their home they take more care.

“But the big problems are the huge deposits which people just cannot afford.”

Darwen Town Council mayor and Sudell councillor Eileen Entwistle said it was ‘irresponsible’.

She said: “That street has been a pain for years and years.

“It has been a blackspot for a long time and it costs the council a fortune.

“Other people are recycling their rubbish properly and these people just dump it. I don’t know what goes on in these people’s heads.

“It is just irresponsible and makes life miserable for everyone else.”