A business owner has lost patience with the fly-tipping situation behind his shop and says he is “tired of cleaning up other people’s mess”.

Manish Rawal, who runs Maple Estate Agents, in Station Road, Harrow, has consistently battled against piles of rubbish in the street behind his building.

It runs along a row of flats and shops – including a bakery and a fish and chip shop – and he believes the situation is a “serious health hazard”.

He said: “We need protection against this and there needs to be a sufficient number of bins for everyone to dispose of their waste.

“In the hot weather, the smell was so bad that we couldn’t turn our air-con on; I’d challenge anyone to walk around there breathing it in for a minute.”

Mr Rawal said it is a perfect environment for flies and rats and believes there is a heightened risk of fire.

He added that the build-up of waste only encourages more fly-tipping – including, on one occasion, a full-size trampoline – and he compared the situation to third-world slums.

“I honestly can’t believe that this is Britain at times. We have to bring our bin inside and put it out the day before collection otherwise it might get contaminated,” he said.

“We’ve paid to clean it three times over the past year, but it keeps coming back – I’m tired of cleaning up other people’s mess.”

Harrow Council explained that, as it is private land without sole ownership, there is a collective responsibility to keep the space clean.

It told Mr Rawal that it has “no legal right” to monitor private land but advised him that if CCTV evidence of dumping was provided, it could target perpetrators.

The council officer he spoke to believes “community engagement” among those who use it on a day-to-day basis is a good way to overcome the issue, and residents were reminded to report all instances of fly-tipping online.

But Mr Rawal argues that more can still be done to protect people from any potential health hazards, including the introduction of more bins for those living and working there.