Trailers packed full of rubbish have been dumped in Lye as part of an organised crime racket which has cost more than £150,000 to clean up over the last five years.

It means there have now been three incidents of trailers being ditched in the borough in the past five months, and 11 since 2019.

The council has spent an average of more than £16,000 each time disposing of the waste properly and removing the trailers. The latest incidents saw two lorryloads of building materials and household waste dumped in Attwood Street and Stourvale Road in Lye.

The trailers have now been taken away and reported to the Environment Agency and the police, who are investigating. Local authority waste chiefs are now asking the public to be vigilant and report issues to the police. Nicholas McGurk, director of environment, said:

“We have had a number of trailers dumped in the borough now which costs money to remove and clean up, so it is residents of the borough who foot the bill.

“This latest incident in Lye is expected to cost a minimum of £25,000 to deal with, but we are still examining the contents. If there are asbestos or other hazardous materials present it could be significantly more.

“We are working with the police and the Environment Agency to try and catch the people who do this, but it is a real challenge. I would urge people if they see anything suspicious to report it to the police so we can try and stop this sort of thing happening in the first place.”

The trailers are loaded with waste as a cheaper alternative to disposing of the rubbish properly, which the council says is part of a nationwide organised crime issue. The trailers are then dumped and are often left in a dangerous condition which causes a risk to the public.

The trailers have been found with tyres and building rubble which has also included asbestos.

In 2019 a trailer of building rubble was dumped in Shaw Road, Dudley, costing £60,000 to dispose of because of the hazardous contents.

The council works with the Environment Agency and police each time there is an incident. People can also report fly-tipping issues to the council online using MyDudley.