A LOCAL councillor has spoken out after community hard work was undone by someone fly-tipping.

Vick Jenkins (Labour, Shipley) organised a community clean-up last month to deal with an ongoing dumping problem on a snicket running next to the Ring O' Bells pub and Shipley Hospital.

But, less than two weeks after the efforts of locals made the path look brand new, it was back to its old state with someone dumping a large amount of garden waste.

Mrs Jenkins said: "We believe its the same people who keep dumping stuff - it looked very similar. There was even green waste still in the shape of one of those green garden bags.

"They just think they can drive up and no one will notice. It's one step forwards and two steps back."

But, Mrs Jenkins is keen to support community clear-ups, particularly in a climate of waste management cuts, and hoped this setback wouldn't put people off in the future.

She said: "All sorts of people came out and worked hard. It looked like it had been re-tarmacked. It felt like such a disappointment to see it in the state it was when I walked past on Wednesday night."

The clear-up first came about when two elderly Shipley residents contacted Mrs Jenkins about helping to clean the snicket.

The cut-through has long been neglected, particularly as it's an unadopted path meaning the Council has no direct responsibility for it.

Alongside the garden waste - where people have taken advantage of easy vehicle access to the path - was also a build up of leaves from overhanging foliage and general rubbish.

Mrs Jenkins and her team approached Shipley Hospital and the Ring O' Bells pub, as well as handing out leaflets around the local area to ask for support for "The Great Shipley Snicket Clean-Up".

A group of volunteers came together on September 3 for the event and they were loaned tools and brushes by the nearby Cellar Trust Charity.

Mrs Jenkins was pleasantly surprised to return to the path a few days after the most recent dumping to find it had been cleared by the Council.

But, the local councillor wants more to be done and has looked into possible solutions for making the pathway less accessible.

She has touted the idea of putting bollards in to prevent vehicles from accessing the footpath and dumping their waste.

There does however remain the issue of funding with the path being unadopted.

Mrs Jenkins said: "We're looking for external funding, putting the feelers out and perhaps we'll have a fundraiser or look at small grants.

"We're asking for support, but nothing is final yet. We're exploring every avenue."

One thing the councillor is certain about is continuing the clean-up events.

She said: "I do really want to support community clear-ups. They're a really easy thing to do - you can contact your council area office. I want to ignite that spark in Shipley.

"People don't know how to do it - anyone can organise it with the help of their council area office."