Rats in the street and disgusting smells: Lockwood residents on horror of living near mountain of rubbish

Friday, 8 July 2016

Rats in the street and disgusting smells: Lockwood residents on horror of living near mountain of rubbish

Environment Agency officials are preparing to meet the Hunter Group's new boss

Lockwood residents have described the horror of living near the former skip hire site off Queen's Mill Road.

Environment Agency officials are preparing to meet a company’s new boss who has responsibility for a mountain of rubbish at an abandoned waste site.

The agency and Kirklees Council are taking action to ensure tons of waste are cleared from the former Hunter Group skip hire site off Queens Mill Road at Lockwood.

Claire Robertson-Dwyer, of nearby Wood Terrace, said the rats in the street and the awful smells were intolerable.

She has been complaining about noise, smells and out-of-hours operating at the site for several years but she believes that the stench has worsened in recent months.

“The kids – aged four and 10 – have not been able to play outside. I can’t put washing out. The children have to hold their noses when they walk from the house to the car. The smell is really gagging and the pile of rubbish has just got higher and higher.”

Resident Gillian Cupples, of Orchard Street, said: “The smell is disgusting. I have seen rats and I have to shut my windows. The waste should be taken away far away from Huddersfield.”