Staffordshire residents 'shocked' as village is blocked in by 80ft-long mound of dumped rubbish

Residents have described their "shock" at waking up to discover an 80ft-long mound of rubbish blocking the only road to their Staffordshire village.

Jeremy and Tammie Roney, who own the Mercia Distillery, were among those blocked in due to the huge, 10ft-high waste pile on Watery Lane, near Curborough.

Speaking to Sky's Sarah-Jane Mee on The UK Tonight, the couple said the pile was made up of "household waste [and] building waste" - and even included needles.

"It's quite shocking really," Mrs Roney said. "You have to see it to believe it. It's a mixture of different materials."

The village's only other access road is currently shut due to roadworks.

The authorities have been "brilliant" and while residents thought the removal process could take a week, they've managed to clear the 30-tonne mound of waste in just two days, she added.

Officials are now turning their attention to working out who is responsible for the fly-tipping.

Mr Roney said staff from the council "really went through" the "astonishing" mound of waste in a bid to find any documents or paperwork that could reveal names linked to the incident.

"They had stacks and stacks of paperwork from each area of the tipping so we're very confident they'll find somebody," he said.

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Lichfield District Council believes the waste was dumped in two drop-offs - one at 11pm on Sunday night and a second at 12.45am on Monday.

It is appealing for dashcam footage of two tipper-like lorries caught on CCTV in the area. Anyone with information is being urged to contact the council.

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