The back alleys of the houses in Wakehurst are in a terrible state due to the fact they seem to have fallen off local agencies’ ‘to-do’ list.

The alleys off Dill Avenue have been made inhospitable with month upon month’s worth of broken bottles, blue bags and general waste.

One resident said: “I’ve cleaned it up myself a couple of times, but I’m doing someone’s job who’s being paid to do it so why should I?”

Another resident said the sooner the alleyways were made ‘residents only’ the better.

“The young ones are drinking up here all the time and leaving the place a real mess,” she said.

Sinn Fein Councillor Maurice Magill said it couldn’t all be blamed on young drinkers, but the majority of the waste was associated with alcohol.

Fellow Sinn Fein Councillor Johnny McGibbon said he had been lobbying the Housing Executive to have an alleygating scheme put into place - so that only residents would have access to the service alleys, used for oil deliveries, window cleaners and to allow residents to put their bins out for collection.

He said they’d also held meetings with the Community Safety Team and the PSNI to seek a resolution.

“It shouldn’t take a phone call from a councillor every time to have this fixed,” he said.

“These alleys should be cleaned regularly as part of a programme.”

The Housing Executive said they are aware there is a substantial amount of rubbish in this area and have arranged for it to be removed as a matter of urgency.

“As there have previously been incidents of anti-social behaviour in the alley the Housing Executive had fitted wooden gates,” said a spokesperson.

“These were subsequently vandalised and removed.”

She added: “The Housing Executive is currently liaising with the Council regarding this matter and will be consulting with local residents.

“Any proposals will require the full co-operation of the community and the local council.”