A Salterbeck resident said that fly-tipping is a problem at the former Garth School site, by Walker Road pitch.

Jonothon Laycock, 44, said he "is at his wits' end" after he has been complaining about the area to various organisations since 2018.

He said he has spoken to Impact housing association about litter and fly-tipping issues in the area and has also tried to contact the owner of the former Garth school site, but without success.

He said fences at the site are down, despite him reporting it to Allerdale, Impact/Riverside and the land owner.

"Impact/Riverside employ two people in the grounds maintenance team (with two part timers in the summer months), I have been told that they cannot get the vehicles they use onto the land during winter months because of the sodden ground and they have no access to 4x4 vehicles.

"No organisation wants to take responsibility for the land."

He said: "Employees litter pick inside the play areas and then leave the surrounding area littered and the litter then blows into the play area, there is no coordination between any of the organisations that manage the parkland."

A spokesman for Impact housing said:  "We would be happy to work in partnership with Allerdale to contact the landowner to rectify the situation."

Fortunately incidents of fly-tipping generally in the Allerdale area are on the decrease.

Allerdale has seen the biggest drop in reported incidents across Cumbria, with more than 200 less than the previous year. 689 fly-tipping incidents were reported in 2019 to 20 – 238 fewer than the previous year.

However, 36 incidents saw fly-tippers discard enough rubbish to fill a tipper lorry each, costing Allerdale council £12,600 to clear.

David Renard, spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: “Fly-tipping is inexcusable.

“It is not only an eyesore for residents, but a serious public health risk, creating pollution and attracting rats and other vermin.

“We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping, so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent.”

Allison Ogden-Newton, chief executive of Keep Britain Tidy, said: “This environmental crime is being driven by ‘man with a van’ operators who are conning the public with what appears to be a cheap way of getting rid of their rubbish, but one that leads to illegal disposal and environmental devastation.

"Tragically, some businesses hold a waste carrier licence are breaking the law and fly-tipping the rubbish households pay them to remove. This must stop. We believe the only way to prevent further law-breaking is to fundamentally reform the system.”