RESIDENTS are demanding something is done to clear up a dirty alleyway which has become a dumping ground for rubbish and furniture.

They complain the alley between Heys Lane and Frances Street, Darwen, is like a bombsite, constantly full of debris and rotten food.

But they said that as soon as the council clears the rubbish away, people were back dumping refuse.

Today council bosses urged residents to report offenders so they could be prosecuted as part of the Thrash The Trash campaign.

Frank Crompton, of nearby Lightbown Street, said he was sick of complaining about the mess and said people needed to think about their neighbours before disgarding things - or be punished.

He said: "I have called the council several times about the state of the back street but it is still a complete mess.

"There's furniture, cardboard and food containers. There is enough rubbish to fill about two Transit vans. It is a disgrace.

"The council are coming and clearing it away but then the next week it is all piled up again.

"It doesn't cost anything for someone to ring the council to ask them to remove their furniture.

"It's like a landfill site. People used to have pride in their homes but no one seems to care anymore."

Lesley Varey, of Greenway Street, said she is fed up of her 80-year-old grandad, who has lived in Heys Lane all his life, having to put up with the untidy and dirty back street.

She said: "My grandad takes pride in where he lives but it's a pity others don't feel the same. The back ally is constantly full of rubbish and bags with rotted food contents in them. Do people not know when bin day is or do they just not care?

"I said to my grandma 'What is the world coming to?' and she said 'The world is the same as it was when she was a young girl, it's the people in it who have changed'."

Peter Hunt, director of direct services at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "We are aware of this problem and we are helping the residents to overcome it as best we can.

"It is important that they not only report to us when items have been left, but that they also try to identify the culprits and report them to us, so that we can take action.

"We will prosecute offenders when we have the evidence, as recent increased number of court cases prove."