A FURIOUS home owner has accused Ealing Council of a lack of understanding after they refused to remove a mountain of rubbish dumped on his property last week.

Lucien Jeffries, who lives on the corner of Allenby Road and Kings Avenue, Greenford, called the council after a heap of builder’s materials and tarpaulin was fly-tipped on to his shared driveway.

The council, though, say a lack of physical evidence and the absence of any witnesses means the property owner is ultimately responsible for the mess.

Mr Jeffries must now remove the rubbish himself or run the risk of receiving a fine.

He said: “It seems the council has just washed its hands of this problem. I simply cannot afford to pay several hundred pounds to have the rubbish removed.”

Mr Jeffries believes the borough should stop the fly-tipping happening in the first place.

He said: “Being honest and advising the council of the waste was to my detriment. I should have just put it in the road and it would collect it free of charge, but then I would be just as bad as the perpetrators.”

A council spokesperson said: “Our inspectors visited the property twice but there was no evidence as to who deposited the waste on his land.

“We’re sorry to hear about the problems experienced by Mr Jeffries and have explained to him that, ultimately, the legal responsibility for clearing fly-tipped waste on private property rests with the land owner.”