EIGHT tonnes of rubbish including couches and beds has been illegally dumped onto the streets of a Port Glasgow housing estate.

Council staff have been forced to clean up huge amounts of items from Clune Park in recent times because the area is constantly being targeted by fly-tippers.

The latest mountain of rubbish was discovered on Wednesday in Maxwell Street and Wallace Street, where sofas, mattresses, furniture and kitchen units were discarded on pavements and by the roadside.

Local authority officials say they are closing in on the culprits and will be taking legal action.

A council spokesman told the Telegraph: “We will keep checking the area because clearly these items pose a potential fire and health risk.

“The council has also been taking steps to identify those responsible and already useful evidence has been gathered and we will be taking legal action.

“We would ask anyone who sees rubbish being dumped in this way to contact us with any information that could be useful in identifying those responsible.”

The problem has been ongoing for the last year and recently the council cleared eight tonnes of rubbish which had built up in just a month.

Ward councillor Jim MacLeod today condemned those responsible.

He said: “It’s a scandal that this stuff has been dumped here.

“It looks like houses have been emptied onto the streets.

“It’s just ridiculous that stuff is dumped yet again in the Clune Park area.

“Part of it is a private estate and it’s not the council’s responsibility to continuously take things away.”

Councillor MacLeod says the problem is putting added financial strain on the local authority and creating a bad first-impression of the district, with Clune Park visible to thousands of train passengers every day.

Mr MacLeod said: “It’s not a great advert for Port Glasgow or Inverclyde.

“This is part of the gateway to the district and between the council, Riverside Inverclyde, housing associations and the Scottish Government we’re all trying to do our best to make the place look more attractive.

“It’s a blight on our communities when people constantly dump stuff illegally.

“It’s also another cost for the council and taxpayers to incur by taking stuff away when times are hard and we have to tighten our belts.

“That money could be better spent elsewhere.”

To report fly-tipping call the Dumb Dumpers free helpline on 0845 2 30 40 90, Inverclyde Council’s customer service centre on 717171 or Police Scotland on 101.