A PROSPECTIVE councillor has vowed to tackle fly-tipping at Saltwells Nature Reserve after cleaning up dumped freezers at the beauty spot.

Christopher Blake, the Conservative candidate for Quarry Bank and Dudley Wood, took to the Quarry Bank end of the reserve to clean up items that have been dumped there for several years.

A fridge freezer, two mattresses and a paddling pool were some of bulky items he dragged away on New Year's Day in a bid to clean up the area.

Christopher said: "Fly-tipping is a common occurrence around the reserve. It seems to be an ongoing issue, it's a shame."

He spotted the rubbish on Boxing Day while on a walk with his parents who were visiting the renowned site.

He said: "It's a bit embarrassing really to see the local area being treated like a tip."

Taking to Twitter after the haul was cleaned up, he wrote: "Two black bin bags of rubbish later I feel like I hardly scratched the surface, but it's something."

Christopher's efforts come amid Dudley Council vowing to be tough on fly-tippers, urging residents across the borough to be the 'eyes and ears' of the community in a bid to tackle the problem.

1,069 incidents of fly-tipping were recorded in the borough in 2016/17, compared to 824 the previous year.

The problem costs around £60,000 to clean up each year, according to the council.