“This can’t go on, it’s an eyesore” - One man slams a charity shop for allowing the street to become a hotspot for fly-tipping.

Electrician Dennis Walsh who lives on Elm Terrace in Harrow Weald says donations outside St Luke’s Hospice charity shop on the high street have become an “absolute tip”.

The 62-year-old who has lived in the area all his life went on to say bags appear outside the charity shop “pretty much every night” and each weekend, creating an “eyesore”.

He also said people are rummaging through the bags creating a mess, while others are using the opportunity to fly-tip large items, like white goods.

Mr Walsh said: “It happens at the weekend mainly because people have time off to bag it up and drop it off.

“But there have been bags there pretty much every night for the last three months.

“People are rifling through the bags leaving an awful mess. It’s just generally an eyesore and it’s not fair on other residents because it’s not being cleaned up thoroughly.”

Mr Walsh said he lodged a complaint with St Luke’s three months ago using the charity’s social media page.

He added: “The place was an absolute tip and I thought, ‘this can’t go on’.”

Mr Walsh said St Luke’s apologised and promptly put up no fly-tipping stickers on the shop shutters which he claims, “no one will take notice of”.

Two weeks ago, Mr Walsh said he completed an online form asking Harrow Council to remove a fridge-freezer dumped on the corner outside the shop.

He said no one got back to him and that the item remained there for “well over a week”.

Mr Walsh said he fears the fly-tipping will be an “on-going problem” because no one can be there “24/7” to monitor it.

St Luke’s published a statement online today, saying: “Unfortunately over the weekend, a large amount of rubbish was dumped outside our Harrow Weald shops on the High Road.

“Our staff arrived this morning to find they could not get access to the shops as a result and had to clear what they could to open up for our supporters. We have reported it to Harrow Council.

“Fly-tipping is illegal and if you see anyone dumping waste, please report it to your council straight away.

“If you have any donations for the shops, please do not leave it outside the shop.”

Harrow Council said in response: “We appreciate people making donations out of good will, but we would make clear if you are leaving bags outside charity shops after it has closed it is still fly-tipping.

“People should donate during opening hours, there is no excuse for fly-tipping or to expect others to clear up after leaving a mess.”

The council said they would continue to work with St Luke’s.

Opening hours for St Luke’s shops can be found here www.stlukes-hospice.org/shops