A MASSIVE pile of tyres dumped behind a Drumchapel supermarket cost the taxpayer £10,000 to clear, the Glasgow Times can reveal.

Glasgow City Council was forced to call in specialist officers from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to tackle the eyesore after warnings it could lead to a toxic blaze if it was targeted by vandals.

In total, 67 tonnes of waste was removed from the site, including 51 tonnes of tyres and 16 tonnes of residual litter.

Councillor Paul Carey said: “It’s absolutely disgraceful that it cost £10,000 of taxpayers’ money to clear this up. This will be a drain on council resources.

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“Make no mistake, this was a serious environmental outrage which could have created an immediate hazard, not just to the surrounding houses, but could have sent toxic fumes right across the whole

area.”

As previously reported, hundreds of tyres appeared on vacant land near to Garscadden House and Aldi in July.

An an emergency meeting was called for crunch talks between Police Scotland, the council and Sepa to determine how to tackle the issue.

Councillor Malcolm Balfour said: “At a time when budgets are tight and everyone is looking where best council resources are required, the irresponsible actions of those

people to dump tyres on such a scale is nothing short of gross stupidity.

“The cost of clearing up this mess is horrendous and those responsible should be forced to repay the council.”

A spokesman for the local authority added: ”Fly-tipping is blatant anti-social behaviour that undermines communities and places a significant drain on our resources, both in terms of collection and disposal of waste.

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“People have a basic responsibility to dispose of their waste appropriately at all times to protect our shared environment and prevent additional costs to the taxpayer.

“We will always pursue any evidence against those responsible for fly-tipping and seek to take appropriate action against

them.

“Fly-tipping also leaves the culprits open to criminal prosecution.”

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Following extensive enquiries, officers are following a positive line of enquiry."