Revealed: Council closed Hollywall Lane, in Sandyford, after asbestos found in fly-tipped waste

This fly-tipped rubbish closed a busy road - after asbestos was found in the dumped waste.

The rubbish - including corrugated iron and bags of waste - was strewn across Hollywall Lane, in Sandyford, over the weekend.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council was alerted to the issue in the early hours of today and the road was immediately closed.

It is a popular rat-run for motorists wanting to avoid Reginald Mitchell Way and led to rush-hour queues this morning.

Now council officials have started an investigation to try to catch the fly-tippers.

It is hoped that the road will be reopened later today.

Councillor Terry Follows, cabinet member for greener city, said: "We received a report in the early hours of Monday morning that Hollywall Lane was blocked due to fly-tipping. Our environmental crime unit visited the scene and found asbestos in the rubble so we were forced to close the road to allow the fly-tipped waste to be cleared safely. While the road was closed, we took the opportunity to carry out a general litter pick of the area and filled in excess of 15 bags of rubbish."

Mr Follows added: "We urge anyone with information about the fly-tipping to come forward so we can find who is responsible for this and hold them to account for their actions.

"We will be going through the debris looking for any clues as well as speaking to local residents. This looks like commercial fly-tipping and it may be that a householder has paid someone in good faith to remove the rubble and dispose of it in what they thought would be the correct way."

It is believed that the fly-tipped waste appeared on Sunday night.

Tom Simpson, secretary of Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents' Association, said: "It is not very good to have this fly-tipping in our area and it has become a real problem. Residents are sick and tired of fly-tipping in the area.

"We hear a lot of complaints about fly-tipping and encourage people to report any suspicious activity they see but when the rubbish is dumped in the evening it is harder.

"Hollywall Lane is not the busiest road in the area but it is quite busy. The closure has affected the rush-hour traffic and that is not fair."

Anyone with any information about the fly-tipping should call the council on 01782 234234.

Read more at http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/revealed-council-closed-hollywall-lane-in-sandyford-after-asbestos-found-in-fly-tipped-waste/story-30199923-detail/story.html#BT5AXE1Lpt5MMgGF.99