Family trapped in their home

The illegal dumping happened late last Monday evening (March 24), when James and Rhona Thomson were shocked to find that a pile of wood, glass and other debris was blocking the lane leading from their home to the main road.

The couple live in Lennoxlee Farm, on the road between Lennoxtown and Torrance.

Rhona said: “There’s two houses at the end of our lane and one of the residents left the lane at about 7.45pm and there was nothing dumped at that point.

But when they returned at midnight it was there - so the people must have dumped the rubbish between those times.”

The rubbish appeared to be building rubble - including pieces of wood, window frames and plaster.

Rhona said: “It’s bad enough that we have the rubble, but there’s also glass and nails which are dangerous - we just don’t know if we’re now going to get punctures every time we drive the car out of our own drive.

“If our neighbours hadn’t told us about it then we’d not have been able to get the kids to school as it was blocking the entire lane.

“It was effectively trapping us in our own home.”

The couple called East Dunbartonshire Council but were told that there was little they could do - because the rubbish had been dumped in a privately-owned lane.

It meant James had to go and clear the rubbish himself.

The council’s website states: “We investigate all instances of fly-tipping that come to our attention.

“Where we can identify who has left the rubbish we require them to either remove it or bill them for the cost of clearing it up. In some instances, fly-tippers may also be prosecuted.

“Where fly-tipping occurs on private ground, the owner of the ground is responsible for removing it.”

Now the family are concerned that they may be seen as a target for the tippers.

Rhona said: “Our family has lived here for over 40 years and we have never had anything like this happen before.

“We just hope that it doesn’t happen again.”

James and Rhona are now urging anybody who sees anything suspicious to call the police or council to report the incident.

To report fly tipping call the council’s community Community Protection department on 0141 578 8814, email [email protected], or go to www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk