Illegal fly-tippers dumping waste on a bonfire site on a Bradford housing estate are being targeted in a crackdown.

Councillor Val Slater has vowed to get tough on people using the planned bonfire on Brafferton Arbor as a way of getting rid of rubbish.

After speaking to the Telegraph & Argus yesterday, Coun Slater arranged for a Bradford Council clean-up team to visit the site this morning and clear away any fly-tipped rubbish.

One Brafferton Arbor resident said the unwanted rubbish piled on and around wood for the bonfire included carpets, grass cuttings, household waste, binbags and builders’ waste.

The woman, who did not want to be named, told the T&A dumping on the site started with Bonfire Night still two weeks away.

She said: “The same thing happens every year, right in the middle of our development. Something has to be done. I don’t want to be a party-pooper, but it is just the scale it will get to and the mess left behind afterwards.

“Last year it got totally out of hand. Firefighters had to come and put it out, but there was still a mess left behind.”

Coun Slater, who represents the Royds ward which covers Buttershaw, said: “We are not against people enjoying themselves and having bonfires, but they have to be properly maintained. It is not an excuse for getting rid of unwanted materials.”

On the clean-up operation, Coun Slater (Lab) said: “One of the difficulties was that this is private land. But there are steps in place to transfer it to Council ownership.

“What we have managed to do is get members of the clean team there and they will take away some items and dispose of them.”

On Wednesday, the T&A reported on an enforcement campaign to tackle fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour during bonfire season.

Coun Slater said: “On Monday when the scheme starts, the fire service will go along and assess this bonfire and give some safety advice.

“We will maintain a watch on it in case these waste items start to come back.”