Tidy Our Town: ‘I am disgusted at the little respect,’ says resident of more than four decades

It was back in February when Helene Kluger-Langer first spoke to the Chronicle & Echo as part of the Tidy Our Town campaign, and she believes the situation has not improved four months on.

Helene has lived in Vernon Walk for more than 40 years and shared the “intolerable and unacceptable” state of her area – which has discouraged her from inviting loved ones to her home.

She admitted she is ashamed of where she lives, and the issue of littering and fly tipping has seen a number of her neighbours move away over the years.

Now, Helene believes there has been little improvement and things may even be worse. She said: “I am disgusted at the little respect for local residents. Everyday I walk along Wellingborough Road and there is a mound of foul-smelling rubbish that has been dumped.”

Helene described her findings as “absolutely shocking” – with dumped items including clothing, bedding, mattresses, bottles, cans, carpeting, doors and electricals, to name a handful.

Having been on a walk around her estate the day before speaking to this newspaper, Helene said: “It just went on and on and on. There are great mounds of rubbish.”

Helene pinpointed Artizan Road as being one of the hotspots and was asked how this concerning situation makes her feel as a long-standing resident.

“It’s very depressing,” she said. “I wish to have visitors but I can’t ask them to come when the estate looks so bad.”

Helene says that she does not think it is just locals disrespecting the area, but those who visit the venues along Wellingborough Road and use the side streets to dispose of cans and bottles.

Looking to the future of the new Reform-led West Northamptonshire Council, Helene would like to see regular inspections and clean ups by the local authority moving forward.

Despite this, she held firm on the fact it is not the Council’s fault that the littering and fly tipping exists and it boils down to the people who do it in the first place.

If you would like to get involved in the Tidy Our Town campaign, established in collaboration with the Northants Litter Wombles, email [email protected].

To get involved and find out more, you can join the Northants Litter Wombles Facebook page here.