BUILDER Steve Davies had to stop work on a roof at Pocket Nook because the stench of rotting rubbish and dog dirt in a gated alleyway made him ill.

“I was stripping a roof at the back of a house in Pitt Street when I became ill because of the smell from rubbish in the alley between Pitt Street and Graham Street. I had to come off the roof and go home because the smell was so overpowering,” said Steve.

“Rubbish has been piling up in the backs for about four weeks. There was a mattress, carpets, household waste, dog muck. If you think the rubbish you see on the telly in Benefits Street is bad you want to come and have a look at the back between Pitt Street and Graham Street. The area is infested with rats.

“There was so much rubbish that you couldn’t open the alley gates and that cost me a set of ladders because I couldn’t park the van near to where I was working and somebody stole them. The alley grids are blocked and full of dog waste.”

Pitt Street resident, Susan Tinning, blamed the state of the alley on an inadequate refuse collection system.

“The problem is made worse by the fortnightly collection system, we should have more than one bin,” she said.

St Helens Council sent workmen round to the alley last Thursday to clear the rubbish which the Star had earlier caught on camera.

A Council spokesman said: “We are aware of fly-tipping there and we have sent a team round to deal with the problem.”