I'm a Blackpool B&B owner and I was pulling my hair out until Gazette helped highlight fly-tipping mess
A huge pile of fly-tipped rubbish blighting a street with B&B accommodation in Blackpool has finally been removed - and the Gazette has been thanked for helping.
B&B owners on Havelock Street, off Central Drive, were desperate for something to be done about the rubbish, which had accumulated there after a solid brick wall was knocked down and replaced with flimsy fencing.
Steve Savage, who runs the Shining Diamond B&B on Havelock Street, complained last month that the mess created a shockingly bad impression on a street which was supposed to be designated as a tourism area.
He also feared the fly-tipped area, which included an abandoned sofa, an old mattress, drinks cans and food wrappings dumped at the entrance to a side alley, may attract vermin.
He said at the time: “We are trying really hard to run a decent business here.
“We have some dancers from China as our guests and they are lovely and polite, keen to find out more about Blackpool.
“They have asked me what is happening with the street and, to be honest, it is very embarrassing.
“The alley and the buildings backing onto from Central Drive are a disgrace and something needs to be done about it. It’s an environmental health issue.”
A prominent article in the Gazette helped draw attention to the issue, while Steve also complained to Blackpool Council.
Last week, after the tip had been growing bigger for much of this year, workers brought in by the council finally cleared the area.
Steve said: “Credit where it is due - by highlighting this problem it has helped make it a priority and led to it being removed.
“It is such a relief to see it gone, it really did create a terrible impression on the street and on the town in general.”
Another resident, John Garnham, said: “This morning there have been two pick-up vehicles and at least four workmen doing a major clear up of the mess at Haverlock Street.
“They appear to be contractors which I'm guessing have been rapidly contracted by the Council following the Blackpool Gazette's publication on May 28.”