A DANGEROUS pile of debris had to be removed from a road near Malvern this weekend.

Members of the local Safer Neighbourhood Team were alerted to the debris by a driver in the area.

The pile of earth and wood had been left in Stocks Lane, Leigh Sinton, and could have caused a serious accident due to the road being unlit and it almost entirely covering one side of the road.

Police and members of Worcestershire County Council’s highways department arrived on-scene to clear the debris away and fortunately no accidents were caused.

Cllr Sarah Rouse, leader of Malvern Hills District Council and ward councillor for Alfrick and Leigh, said it was “shocking and irresponsible” to leave debris in the middle of the road this way.

She said: “That is absolutely shocking and irresponsible, someone could have been seriously injured or worse.

“Simply to save some worthless individul the cost of tipping the waste, which they could do cheaply in Leigh Sinton itself at the waste site. Terrible.”

The @MalvernCops Twitter account shared a photo of the debris prior to its removal, saying: “SNT and Patrol attending a report of debris in the road at Stocks Lane in Leigh Sinton.

“This could have caused a serious traffic incident, thankfully a motorist called it in and nobody was hurt. Hope @WorcsTravel have a big enough shovel.”

According to Keep Britain Tidy, more than one million instances of fly tipping were dealt with by councils in England, costing them more than £58 million.

Courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping, including imprisonment, fines of up to £50,000 orders to pay costs and an order to deprive rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.

For more information about how to report fly tipping in your area, head to www.malvernhills.gov.uk/parking-and-streets/community-and-environmental-protection/fly-tipping-and-littering