A DAY of action on waste in Mossley certainly sparked a reaction as a sofa found dumped was soon on fire.
Volunteers came together with officers and councillors in a day of action to tackle litter and fly tipping in the town.
And a sofa located on waste land soon felt the heat as not long after it was located, it was in flames.
Teams visited hot spot areas, real hot spot areas, including Manchester Road, Waggon Road, Carrhill Road and Arundel Street as checks were carried out.
Clean ups were done and households visited to address issues relating to contaminated bins and reminding people how to use them properly.
They also visited businesses to check they were managing their waste as they should.
While investigating fly tipping, officers were able to link dumped waste to various nearby properties.
They are now investigating five potential offenders with a view to taking enforcement action, which may include serving a Fixed Penalty Notice or court prosecution.
Tameside Council’s executive member responsible for environmental services Cllr Denise Ward, who took part in the day of action along with ward members Cllr Tafheen Sharif and Cllr Stephen Homer as well as community volunteers from Mossley Litterbugs, said: “It’s great to see another successful day of action where litter and fly tipping issues, that have caused concerns in the local community, have been addressed.
“Working together, with local residents and businesses, is the most effective way of tackling issues and hot spot areas and keeping our streets cleaner and tidier in the long term and my thanks particularly goes to community volunteers such as Mossley Litterbugs who go out every week picking up litter to look after their town.
“We should all be taking pride in our neighbourhoods. Where we find evidence of anyone fly tipping or littering we will always take further action – there is no excuse for dumping waste illegally, it is totally unacceptable and disrespectful of the local community and environment.”