Video: Rubbish from tip lays waste to Seacroft beauty spot
A Seacroft beauty spot has been trashed by waste from a Leeds council refuse depot.
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Angry residents say vandals repeatedly break into the tip then scatter the rubbish around Ramshead Woods.
They have called for an urgent clean-up and for the fence surrounding the tip to be strengthened.
Dog lover Ashley Westerman said: "It has been getting worse and worse for about a year now and nothing seems to have been done to clear it up. I used to walk my dog in there but she got a cut paw so I don't bother now."
The Leeds City Council tip, in Limewood Road, has a large sign at the front entrance warning people they could be fined if any rubbish is dumped outside.
When the Yorkshire Evening Post visited the woods they were littered with all kinds of waste, including charred, discarded gas bottles, rusting mattress springs and broken glass.
One corner was littered with hundreds of aluminium cans which appeared to have been flattened, ready for recycling.
Somehow, the vandals had managed to get an entire bale of the cans, measuring two feet across, over the fence and into a patch of undergrowth.
A council clean-up team began tackling the rubbish on Monday.
Matthew Clark, of Eastdean Drive, said he had used the woods as a child and his own children used to play there.
But the dad-of-three said: "I won't let them go in there now.
"It is a shame, it is a little bit of sanctuary up here. I take my kids places but some of the local kids don't see any greenery, this is all they have.
"It is kids making the mess. The council needs to put a fence up they can't get through."
A Leeds City Council spokeswoman confirmed the problems were down to antisocial behaviour at the tip.
She said the site's security included a full-time guard, and an eight-foot metal fence joined to a ten foot concrete wall.
The spokeswoman added: "We have repaired the fence that was damaged and have arranged for any remaining mess in the woods to be cleared up. We will continue to work with the police to try and tackle the problem."
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 04 February 2012
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