WORDSLEY councillor Paul Brothwood took matters into his own hands by removing rubbish bags which had been left uncollected in Marshall Crescent.

The councillor had been called to visit the former Wordsley Hospital site by concerned residents after rubbish bags began to pile up.

Waste vehicles were unable to gain access in Marshall Crescent owing to the fact that some residents had double parked their cars.

Cllr Brothwood said: "The whole site has limited parking, so people have been using both sides of the road. As a result the waste lorries have been unable to get through.

"Residents have been further worried by the fact there is no access for emergency vehicles, especially fire engines.

"There are removable pillars around the new estate, but the fire service confirmed they had not been issued with any keys.

"At present, the borough council has still not adopted the site and I am working to try and find an appropriate solution.

"In meantime I went and cleared up some of the refuse bags myself and put them into one of the carts available. Quite a number of the bags had split and rubbish had spilt out. "Thankfully one of the residents spotted me clearing up and came to help.

"The rubbish was turning the place into a real eyesore so I started clearing up because I just want to see Wordsley looking nice.

"But I urge the residents not to double park, otherwise I can see missed bin collections happening again."

Martyn Holloway, Dudley's head of traffic and transportation, said: "My understanding is that the road concerned is yet to be adopted and was not anticipated to be used for residential parking as it clearly is.

"Although it would be possible to regulate parking on these narrow streets, it's likely this would have a significant impact on adjacent properties and thus be strongly objected to.

"It may be possible for colleagues in environmental services to make arrangements to collect the refuse with smaller vehicles or at more commodious times."