The scene at the multi-use games area in Ketley. Picture by Michael Wilkinson

This was the scene at an outdoor exercise area installed at a multi-million pound development in Telford just 24 hours after it was tidied.

Yobs dumped rubbish, including bottles, newspapers and even a bike, around the area in Ketley.

Ex-parish council chairman Mike Wilkinson, of Holyhead Road, Ketley, was so shock- ed at the mess he found on Saturday morning he used a camera to record the fly-tipping.

He said: “The multi-use games area on the Millennium Community site off Holyhead Road was a much-needed facility and is already well used, in the main, by well-behaved and polite young people.

“Sadly it’s also frequented by, to be polite, people who are a sandwich short of a picnic.

“The rubbish shown accumulated over a single 24-hour period. Ketley Parish Council employs a professional company to tidy up twice a week around the muga, nowhere else in Ketley receives nor warrants that expenditure of the council tax.

“There is little hope of educating those responsible and their more enlightened friends can probably exert little influence on the people who are more than happy to not just create a mess, but are content to play in it as well.”

He said it was left to the rest of the community to foot the clear-up bill.

Mr Wilkinson said there was a rubbish bin, but it was not used very much.

He said: “The parish council does a very good job, it is doing it best to ensure that the place is kept clean for the majority and it is one of those battles it will eventually win

“It’s going to take a long time. Hopefully people discarding the rubbish will perhaps see they are causing the problem.”

Parish clerk John Roberts said the council employed someone to clean the site on Fridays and Mondays. He said: “He went up on Monday and it was in a dreadful state, so we are not best impressed.”

Mr Roberts said the employee had filled about 20 bags with rubbish. “I know he said he was pretty upset about it,” he said. “He works very hard to get it tidy.”

Last month, residents were urged to “shop” suspected fly-tippers in Telford by using a council hotline. Countryside campaigners say they are appalled by the huge mounds of household rubbish, including dozens of bin bags, cookers, fridges and old car tyres, littering the rural area.

Residents group Friends of the Ercall started voluntary patrols in their area with video cameras to catch fly-tippers.

And Telford & Wrekin Council has promised to do all it can to tackle dumping.

Councillor Stephen Bentley, cabinet member for environment, said: “The council investigates all reports of fly-tipping across the borough and takes this issue extremely seriously. That is why one of our promises is to clear fly-tipping from council land within two working days.”

He said there were sometimes difficulties if rubbish was dumped on private land although the council offered support and advice to landowners to help them to clean up.

Councillor Bentley said: “We welcome members of the public acting as our eyes and ears and reporting incidents of fly-tipping, which they can do by calling (01952) 384384.”