A COMPUTER glitch has been blamed for sacks of dangerous rubbish being left for nearly a month on an Antrobus roadside.

Villagers discovered fly-tipped bags containing old foodstuffs, packaging, cleaning materials, soil, plant pots and broken light bulbs on Scotch Hall Lane on Sunday, May 14.

Local resident, Nicola Tratalos, tried to report the rubbish to Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) via their website, but found their system wouldn't provide a reference number for the query, despite several attempts over a three-week period.

She eventually phoned the council, while in the meantime, residents took it upon themselves to move to rubbish to a safer place, as it was contaminating a watercourse which runs into several local ponds.

Northwich Guardian: The sacks contained old foodstuffs, soil, and broken glass, amongst other thingsThe sacks contained old foodstuffs, soil, and broken glass, amongst other things (Image: Nicola Tratalos)

Despite these efforts, passing tractors ran over the bags, which then ended up strewn all over Scotch Hall Lane.

Nicola said: “I reported it on May 14, but the online system wasn’t working properly and wouldn’t provide a reference number. Others have tried to report it as well.

“After more than three weeks, I was forced to call the council – they said they would deal with it within 10 days, but ignored all the previous online reports.

“They have an obligation to remove the rubbish within 10 days of initial reporting - this has been far exceeded.

Northwich Guardian: The council have apologised for any inconvenience causedThe council have apologised for any inconvenience caused (Image: Nicola Tratalos)

“The rubbish had been tipped into a waterway in a ditch, polluting the stream and downstream ponds, so some neighbours climbed in and bagged the rubbish, and left it neatly by the roadside. What a horrible job!

“Still no effort was made to remove the rubbish, which ended up strewn all over the roadway after tractors drove over the bags, bursting them and spreading the rubbish along the road.

“It was a serious health hazard. We’re aware a local dog was poisoned and had to go to the vet for treatment."

A CWAC spokesman said: “The fly-tipping has now been removed.

“We identified a system error which has now been resolved and the service are working through any enquiries that were affected as a result.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and send our best wishes to the dog affected.”