Furious residents brand waste dumped on road 'a disgrace' as council launches appeal to track down culprits

A Balerno resident found large piles of plasterboard and other rubbish dumped illegally at the side of Long Dalmahoy Road.

Graham Anderson posted pictures of the waste spilling out onto the road on the Facebook page Balerno Cares saying, “Lost for words this morning!!! This is on the Long Dalmahoy Road, it looks like my no dumping, CCTV signs are not even a deterrent.”

After posting the images, on Friday, angry residents reported the mess to the City of Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland.

One woman said: “What an absolute disgrace and the problem for landowners is it is then on them to remove at their costs. The fines for this should be monumental as it’s a complete disregard for all.”

Another said: “Beyond despicable. The fines (if they’re ever caught and prosecuted) need to be increased to an amount where it hurts. Hitting them in the pocket is probably the only answer as they obviously don’t give a damn about anything else.”

A council team removed the items from the bend of the road today.

Now a plea has been issued for any information to help track down those responsible.

A council spokesperson said: “One of our crews attended the site this morning and removed the substantial amount of fly tipping.

"It’s always really disappointing to see fly tipping spoiling our beautiful city as the selfish actions of a few can really affect those living in a local community, and in this case, an important access for a local farmer and there’s no excuse for it.

"We have a simple booking system for residents to access our household waste recycling centres and a special uplift service that costs only £5 per item to legally dispose of unwanted bulky household waste.

“We’re constantly tackling issues such as those highlighted here and our enforcement team will continue to work closely with cleansing colleagues to remove items as quickly as possible. If you have any information that may assist us in identifying the person(s) that have committed this illegal act then please contact the Council or Police Scotland as soon as possible.”

Police Scotland was contacted for comment.