Litter louts dump Christmas toys at roadside

LITTER louts have been urged to “show some respect” for their local environment after Christmas toys and other festive goods were dumped on a rural road near Mountfield this week.

The latest incident of fly-tipping was discovered by a walker on the Rushhill Road, close to the Racopla Road on Tuesday afternoon.

It comes after Fermanagh and Omagh District Council discussed what measures could be taken to curb what has been described as the ‘scourge of fly-tipping’ at a number of locations.

Among the proposals mooted is the introduction of special CCTV at hotspots where dumping has been taking place regularly.

However, Mid-Tyrone Sinn Fein councillor, Catherine Kelly, said the onus must be on residents to “show respect for their neighbours and the local countryside.”

“Fly-tipping has unfortunately become a blight on our lovely countryside and the reality is that people must take responsibility for their actions because the council cannot cover every inch of roadside with CCTV cameras,” she said.

“It defies belief that in this instance someone decided to dump their discarded Christmas toys, despite the fact that we have one of the best recycling centres in the district just a few short miles away in Carrickmore.

“This latest example comes only a couple of months after we highlighted a number of similar examples in the locality.”

Lee Hawkes, who discovered the dumping incident, said it was a disgrace that people believed that they could throw their rubbish at the side of the road in this way.

“Surely, the toys could have been given to a charity shop or brought to the nearest recycling centre? It’s just a disgrace that this type of fly-tipping is still happening when we are all so aware of the damage being caused to our environment by waste,” he said.