FLYTIPPERS who continued to dump rubbish at a supermarket recycling service in Stow have left the store with no alternative but to withdraw the facility completely.

Several complains had been received among users and residents of Stow about the mess left near the bins in the Tesco store car park causing an eyesore around the site.

The supermarket had installed and co-ordinated the facility as a service to Stow residents but the continued inconsiderate actions of some users caused them to rethink that service.

A spokesman for Tesco told the Journal: "Unfortunately we had to remove our recycling facility at our Stow store due to the high levels of flytipping and improper use.

"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused but we had a large number of complaints due to the state of the car park."

Cotswold District Council has said that while it has no control over the positioning or removal of recycling bins on private land, the public can still use the council-owned facilities in the town.

Speaking on behalf of the council, Scott Williams of the Gloucestershire Joint Waste Team said: "Unfortunately the District Council has no say in the siting of recycling banks on private land or at supermarkets and we advise the public to contact the store or the town council if they wish to discuss any issues relating to this decision.

"However, we can confirm that we will continue to provide our own recycling banks at Maugersbury Road in Stow, which is within reasonably easy reach for many local people. Residents will, of course, be able to continue using their kerbside recycling collection service to recycle paper, cans/tins, glass bottles/jars, cardboard and mixed plastics and also have the option of taking their recyclables to the Household Recycling Centre at Fosse Cross or to one of the other recycling sites across the district.”