WORCESTERSHIRE County Council’s decision to close its Wyre Forest household waste sites due to the severe weather led angry residents to dump their uncollected rubbish on the roads outside.

Adrian Sewell, a former Labour Wyre Forest district councillor, said he was “shocked” by the lack of planning to tackle the impact of the cold snap on waste and recycling services in the district.

He explained it was essential local household waste sites remained open at such times.

Mr Sewell added that while the county council took the decision to close the tips in Wyre Forest, efforts were made to keep open sites in other areas of the county.

Mr Sewell said: “I took my recyclable waste to the site to avoid filling my waste bin and was shocked by the amount of waste fly-tipped outside the closed site.

“It is appalling that efforts are not focused on keeping household waste sites open, from a public health perspective,” he told the Shuttle.

“I know that neighbouring Shropshire Council have ensured all their household waste sites are open.

“Why have not our council not done the same? I am also amazed by the sign that says priority will be given to open sites in other areas of county, rather than Wyre Forest.

“It is vital that priority is given to keeping sites in the district open in future.”

Andrew King, of Roundhill Wharf, Kidderminster, added: “I travel 20 miles a day to and from work and so why is the tip closed when people need to dispose of rubbish that [the district] council will not collect?”

A county council spokesman said: “The decision to close waste sites in Worcestershire was taken in the interests of not only visitors but also of staff who work in them.

“We concentrated staff efforts to open two sites, one in the north of the county (Redditch) and one in the south (HIll and Moor) over the weekend, despite the challenging conditions.

“Unfortunately, we did receive reports of people leaving rubbish outside the entrance to some sites but staff have now cleared those away.

“We hope that, despite more difficult weather predicted, we can continue to provide as normal a service as possible, while not compromising the safety of visitors or staff.”