A country lane strewn with builders' rubbish and household waste was today branded the worst eyesore in York.

Councillors Jonathan Morley, left, and Mick Bradley, examine the mess. Pictures by Garry Atkinson

The mile-long stretch of Outgang Lane and Bad Bargain Lane has become a dumpers' paradise over the last few months.Bricks, breeze blocks and tyres are piled up along the way, along with mattresses, toilets, carpets, tree cuttings, clothes, car seats, window frames and scattered food and waste from domestic bin bags.

One resident said he had even seen the body of a dead dog left at the side of the lane to rot.

Ward councillors Mick Bradley and Jonathan Morley are calling for the two lanes, which are classed as bridleways open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, to be blocked off so that trucks and wagons cannot get in.

Coun Bradley said: "This should be a beautiful country lane - the surface should be improved and they need to make sure there is a barrier where they can't get through.

"If they clear up the rubbish and don't do something about shutting it off, it will happen again."

He said he believed builders and motor engineers were among the culprits but said the problem was that no one ever saw who was coming and dumping the rubbish.

"I've never seen anything like it. I used to come here as a kid and it was beautiful. Now it's the worst eyesore in York."Coun Morley said: "I think people are put off using the bridleway because it's such a mess."

Regular user and cyclist Martin Curtis, of Tang Hall Lane, said: "I saw a dead dog about three weeks ago which was partially decomposed which somebody had dumped," he said.

"I've been coming down here for years something definitely needs doing."

A spokesman for the City of York Council said the cost of clearing up the mess would be £6,000.

Negotiations were being carried out with local landowners about blocking off the entrances to vehicles before the clearing work took place.

Coun Martin Brumby, chairman of the council's Environmental Services Committee, said: "If there are problems with fly tipping anywhere in the City of York area people need to report it to the Environmental Regulation department and we will make sure it gets shifted.

"We have to rely on people to report it. The council has a duty to clear it up and will clear it up as soon as possible."

The maximum penalty for fly tipping is a £20,000 fine or a six-month prison sentence or both, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

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