A WOMAN has hit out at Glasgow City Council after they refused to remove plastic waste from a city waterway. 

Gillian Ford, who lives in Pollok, says rubbish has been accumulating in Brock Burn which runs alongside Levernside Road "for years".

She first contacted the council and her local councillors in January this year after noticing a "dam of plastics" had built up between Waterfoot Avenue and Southfield Crescent near the little stone bridge going from one side of the burn to the other.

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

However, she has been told the council will not be able to remove it due to 'health and safety'. 

Gillian said: "I’ve personally been trying to get action taken on this for half a year and it just goes round and round in circles.

"All the councillors contacted the council department in January who replied to say they were going to carry out a health and safety survey.

"Then they said could not see how they could safely remove the plastic which is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in my life.

"The water is ankle deep."

READ NEXT: 'Soul-destroying': Councillors react after Glasgow nursery vandalised again

She added: "Get welly boots on, get rubber gloves on, get black bin bags and get the stuff emptied.

"It would take them a couple of hours and they just come up with excuse after excuse."

However, a council spokesperson says risk assessments indicate it is unsafe for staff to work at the location. 

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Gillian says while local councillors have been helpful, she is frustrated by the response from the relevant department in the council.

She explained: "I feel really sorry for our local councillors because they’re really nice and doing their bit from their side, it’s the actual council department who are failing this part of the city.

"It’s absolute laziness.

"The council education system quite rightly teaches the kids about plastic pollution but when it’s on your own doorstop it’s like ‘who cares about that’."

READ NEXT: Reform UK makes admission over 'invisible' candidates at election in Glasgow

The 54-year-old continued: "I’m a childminder and I’ll quite often be walking the children across that bridge if we’re going to the library and they always like to look over into the water and it’s horrible.

"What should be a nice view is just a solid mass of rubbish and plastic.

"It’s horrible. And then there’s rats running over it."

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Gillian says she is also concerned about the "terrible" effect of the rubbish on local wildlife and says there used to be a heron that lived in the burn.

She said: "It’s just an absolute eyesore, it’s so depressing.

"The rubbish in the local area is depressing anyway but there’s just something specifically about walking that route with children because they would like to look at the ducks.

"But it’s the absolute opposite of what it should be.

"I presume it’s really bad for the ducks and the birds and all the other wildlife and biodiversity.

"They shouldn’t be having to live right beside all that pollution."

(Image: Gordon Terris, Newsquest)

Gillian says she was told by one person at the council in March there was someone responsible for cleaning up waterways in the south of the city who had since left their post and was not being replaced but someone based in the north of the city would be sent to come and have a look at the burn.

However, so far no one has been to clear it.

She added: "It’s absolutely soul destroying.

"It needs sorted and you think the council are going to be as appalled as residents and they’re not, they couldn’t care less and it’s really depressing to think."

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council spokesperson said: "Our teams work hard to keep Glasgow in good order, which is challenging when research shows that litter is dropped in the city every three seconds.

"We are aware of the build-up of litter at this part of the Brock Burn and we are actively looking at how this matter can be resolved, which may include the use of a specialist contractor.

"Our risk assessments indicate it is unsafe for our staff to work at this location and we have an obligation to protect our staff from harm.

"For their own safety, we also ask members of the public to follow this advice also and not attempt to clear the waste themselves."