A MUM who made use of a free bulky waste collection service for people on benefits has given it the thumbs up and urged others to do the same to prevent the blight of fly-tipping on a city estate. 

Katrina Paterson, of Rodborough Drive, in Warndon, was one of the scheme’s early users, arranging free collection of a mattress that would otherwise have cluttered up her home indefinitely.

Speaking after the collection, she said: "This is an excellent, easy-to-use free service, which everyone who qualifies should take advantage of.”

Cllr Jill Desayrah, a city councillor for Warndon, has been a strong supporter of the service after the initial rollout proved a success and has identified several flytipping hotspots on the estate.

Worcester News: ACTION: Katrina Paterson of Warndon has used the free bulky waste collection service while Cllr Jill Desayrah says it can help stop fly-tipping on the estate ACTION: Katrina Paterson of Warndon has used the free bulky waste collection service while Cllr Jill Desayrah says it can help stop fly-tipping on the estate (Image: Jill Desayrah)

The Labour councillor has even used her own car to transport rubbish from Warndon to the tip in Bilford Road in Worcester.

She recently reported the growing mountain of rubbish in Cranham Drive in Warndon which included a shopping trolley, carpet, office chair and a broken chest of drawers.

She first reported the mess to Platform Housing on March 9 and again on March 22, receiving acknowledgement from Platform. 

Worcester News: DETERMINED: Cllr Jill Desayrah wants to make scenes like this a thing of the past in Warndon DETERMINED: Cllr Jill Desayrah wants to make scenes like this a thing of the past in Warndon (Image: Supplied)

Introduced in Autumn 2023 as a way to reduce levels of abandoned rubbish across the city, the scheme provides free bulky waste collection for anyone in receipt of council tax credit.

It has proved a hit with residents who would otherwise have no easily accessible means of disposing of larger waste items.

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Cllr Desayrah, a longstanding champion of better bulky waste provision, called for even greater use of the scheme by residents.

She added: “Some fly tipping arises out of having no other choice when people without transport simply cannot afford the per item cost of a paid-for collection.

"Flytipping is a real quality of life issue, and as I know from having personally reported or collected in excess of 100 fly-tipped items, it’s also easy for one dumped object to attract more at the same spot within a few hours.

"The massive pile of dumped rubbish on Cranham Drive is an example of how things can get out of hand.

"Before now I’ve had to take an unwanted double mattress like Katrina’s to the tip myself in my own little Toyota Yaris. Now there is an alternative option, and I’m optimistic that flytipping across the city can be significantly reduced. The more people know about the scheme, the more flytipping can be prevented."

She added: "Saturday Skips had two trials in Warndon and were very popular but relatively few people had access to them. This service is better because it can reach everyone who needs it."