'Rat-infested' Fly-tipping rubbish to be cleared from West Sussex primary school by council after three weeks

St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Bognor Regis had fly-tippers leave rubbish on school grounds, it’s now set to be cleaned up by the council after three weeks. Peter Edgington, the Head Teacher at the school said: “We had additional people flytipping where the original rubbish was. Three bikes were left and a shopping trolley as well. I started getting calls from locals asking us what we were going to do about it, because it's affecting people in the flats nearby too.

“It is a health hazard for our students because we weren't sure whether or not there was asbestos in it. It’s concerning for us, because from the look of it, it looked like it was a bathroom refurbishment.

“People were starting to add household rubbish, like food, which attracted foxes, seagulls and rats. The children were getting quite distressed about that. We also noticed that it's next to an electric substation that people have put rubbish over into the sort of fenced-off area there as well, which could be an electrical hazard.”

“I’m very glad that our Arun District Council in West Sussex County Council have agreed who's responsible and are going to sort it out.

“Ideally, to stop this happening again, what we what we want is either gates or a barrier to stop people being able to get into that car park. That's something that that the school is unlikely to be able to afford to pay for. So it's just a question of hoping that it’s something we can think about in the future.”

A joint statement was released from Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council. It says: “This is a very unfortunate situation and we sympathise with the school for the inconvenience caused.

“As the car park is used by the school, unfortunately it is the school’s responsibility to maintain it, and this includes the clearance of fly-tipping. However, due to the confusion the school has experienced which may have led to delays in resolving the matter, Arun District Council and West Sussex County Council have offered to collect and dispose of the rubbish on this occasion.”