Hunt on for vacuum mountain fly-tippers

A mountain of discarded vacuum cleaners has been discovered near a reservoir and beauty spot.

Blackburn with Darwen Council said dozens of discarded appliances were discovered near Entwistle Reservoir, a scenic spot between Darwen and Bolton.

Mark Wilde, the council's service lead for environment operations, said: "You would suspect this is more than from waste from a domestic household it is looking more like some commercial business."

He added after careful examination of the waste some some of the waste was found to be from Bolton.

Wilde said: "Our environmental crime team have done an excellent job at finding evidence and we are working very closely with Bolton Council."

Although the council does not have police powers, he said it had written to people thought to be involved to arrange for them to be interviewed under caution.

He added: "People who we have written to have contacted us."

Wilde said: "It's not just the the people who actually deposit the waste but if anyone gives their waste to anybody who is not a licensed waste carrier, we can also prosecute them.

"So they must check that the people they're giving the waste to are licensed to carry waste and they should have a carrier's licence that they can ask to see."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.