An estate agent has appealed to its council for help in an “ongoing” battle with fly-tippers.

Staff at Maple Estate Agents, in Station Road, Harrow, have written to Harrow Council on several occasions, complaining about rubbish being illegally dumped behind their shop.

They said it is turning into a “perfect environment” for vermin and have urged authorities to take action.

“It invites mice and flies – it’s completely filthy,” said lettings manager Shyamal Bhatt.

“You can’t really walk around there any more because of the mess and people now see it is a place where you can get away with dumping things.

“We’re asking the council to come forward and help us. There’s a restaurant and a nursery nearby – this is a serious health and safety issue.”

Harrow Council explained that, because the issue concerns private land, it is up to the owners to deal with it.

But it asked residents and businesses there to continue to report any instances of fly-tipping and to try and provide as much evidence as possible.

Cllr Varsha Parmar, responsible for the environment at Harrow Council, said: “It makes me so angry that this still happens in Harrow when the council and our residents work so hard to try to keep our streets clean.

“These thoughtless people come along to dump rubbish and ruin it all.

“I urge anyone who sees this happening to report it straight away and help us restore pride in the borough.

“We must work together to stamp out such despicable behaviour and disregard for our surroundings.”

Mr Bhatt said he understands the rules around private and public land but believes that, in this case, more can be done.

He added that Maple has sent over CCTV images of people fly-tipping, as well as pictures of empty addressed parcels that have been discarded.

“We’ve sent stuff over, but the council haven’t done anything about it,” he said.

He suggested that installing gates could be a suitable solution but, given that several people use the road, this would require a joint effort.