People in Great Yarmouth are getting waste lessons to help keep litter under control

Jenny Butcher and Linda Osborne say they send photos of fly-tipping and waste to the council every day

Andrew Turner/BBC Jenny Butcher, standing left, and Linda Osborne. They're both wearing denim jackets and sunglasses, and they both have blonde hair. They stand in an alley – which stretches into the distance behind them – between two rows of terraced houses. — Jenny Butcher and Linda Osborne say they send photos of fly-tipping and waste to the council every day

People living in an area plagued by fly-tipping are trained in the correct use of waste bins.

Residents in the Cobholm area of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, said the streets and alleys were littered with rubbish, so they asked the council to take action.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council said rangers had provided advice, handed out leaflets and put up signs.

James Wilson, the council’s head of environment, said: “It’s about re-educating some people, advising them exactly what the council expects – and what their responsibility is to keep their area clean and tidy.”

The authority now plans to tackle litter on the Barracks Estate.

Jenny Butcher, 75, has lived in Cobholm for more than 50 years, ever since she married.

She said she was “embarrassed” to live close to a rubbish-strewn passageway.

“It used to be nice and in recent years it has only gotten worse.

“I was so fed up that we sent pictures to the council almost every day,” she said.

Linda Osborne, 57, said smelly mess kept her nieces from playing outside.

She added: “In the summer it was absolutely terrible because the seagulls would just tear the (rubbish) bags to shreds.

“There was raw food across the hall.

“It stunk, absolutely stunk.”

Environmental officer Kerry Hemsworth says rubbish bins without house numbers have been removed

Andrew Turner/BBC Kerry Hemsworth, standing in an alley clear of rubbish and bins. She has auburn hair and wears a black fleece jacket. — Environmental officer Kerry Hemsworth says rubbish bins without house numbers have been removed

The council team emphasized that leaving waste near or next to waste bins also amounts to fly-tipping.

Kerry Hemsworth, a council environmental officer, said: ‘There were 90 bins regularly stored in the corridors.

“The information we sent to residents encouraged them to remove their bins from the corridors and store them in their properties.

“Where the bins were not numbered or identified, we placed stickers on them, moved them to the ends of the aisles and eventually removed them after a few days.”

Then, as fly-tipping fell, ‘thank you’ letters were sent.

Residents reported fewer problems and street sweeping crews saw fewer overflowing bins.

James Wilson, head of environment at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said keeping areas clean will mean more money for other services

Andrew Turner/BBC James Wilson, wearing a high visibility jacket, black fleece and blue shirt. He smiles and stands in an alley where there are no trash cans and dumps. — James Wilson, head of environment at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said keeping areas clean will mean more money for other services

James Wilson, head of environment and sustainability at the authority, said the savings could be spent elsewhere.

“This year we cleaned up somewhere in the region of 4,500 fly tips. We have five crews pretty much all the time just focused on tipping fly tips,” he said.

“That takes a lot of resources and effort to control the waste that people should be able to manage themselves.”