RESIDENTS whose road has been used as a fly-tipping site for 18 years say they are fed up with the lack of action from their council.

They say the backyard of one of the houses in Vicarage Road, Plumstead, is regularly used to dump rubbish including beds, car doors and unwanted furniture.

Greenwich Council has built a fence around the yard to deter fly-tippers but tenants say rubbish is still dumped over the top and the fence is often knocked down.

They also claim other junk is left along the road and the mess is attracting rats.

Pat Brown, 48, of neighbouring Coupland Place, said: "It's not all residents that are leaving this stuff, fly-tippers are coming in from outside and pulling down the fence or dumping stuff over the top.

"They're leaving so much furniture it's like a cheap DFS."

Around 20 concerned residents met with council officers yesterday (June 5) to discuss the problem.

Harold Roots, aged 64, from Vicarage Road said: "The other day they had to take 50 black sacks full of rubbish away.

"But the council leave half this stuff and we've just got fed up with it now."

And Jeffrey Collier, 60, a diesel mechanic, said: "It's been going on for ages and ages.

"It's running alive with rats and you've got to worry because people have got young kids who play round here."

Ms Brown says residents have been in constant contact with council officials about the issue but there has been no end to the problem.

She said: "One tenant has met up with his own back running around in circles and I am not about to do the same.

"We'd all love to move but we love our houses - we just don't like what's opposite them."

A spokesman for Greenwich Council said the landowners would be contacted and asked to build a wall or face further action.

He said: "The council will continue to encourage landowners to keep their land free of fly tipping.

"Where they have a genuine desire to tackle the problem, we'll work in partnership with them.

"If they don't respond we will take tough enforcement action."