‘I feel like I’m dirty’: Mother living in rubbish pile-up hell for three years

By Joe Coughlan, Local Democracy Reporter

A woman says she can no longer invite friends or family over after her neighbours have been dumping their rubbish under her flat for nearly three years.

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, has lived in Eltham High Street, Greenwich since 2018.

She said: “Every time you pass here, there’s fruit flies. I see rats there sometimes. It’s ugly and horrible. Even foxes go and rip up the bags.”

Rubbish started to pile up soon after the neighbouring tenants moved in during 2019.

Initially, the woman spoke directly to the neighbours allegedly responsible for the rubbish. After years of complaining, the resident gave up last September when the men allegedly intimidated her family on her daughter’s birthday.

She said: “He came next to the stairs and said ‘Do you want to face me? Do you want to come down and talk to me?’ In a very aggressive way. He was saying with his body language that he was going to hit me.

“Every time I see them, I pass very fast to get inside. My daughter has mentioned to me many times that she is afraid to look around when she’s passing because they’re staring at her very intensely.”

The woman said she has felt too ashamed to have people over to her flat, whether socially or for her business.

“I cannot explain it. I feel like I’m dirty as if it’s my fault,” she added.

“I get the feeling people passing by think that this is my rubbish. It’s so horrible. I used to do eyelashes and have friends come over. I haven’t used my beauty bed in two years because I don’t want any friends or family over.”

Since cutting contact with her neighbours, the resident says she has asked her agency, London Cribs, for security camera footage to prove the men are behind the huge rubbish pile, but they told her to go directly to the council.

Mahei Nosarti Sahlan, who also lives in the complex, started to notice the problem six months ago. He recalls the council being unable to collect rubbish because of the room containing the bins being inaccessible.

Mr Sahlan said: “There was some sewer work going on about six months ago. It was at the entrance of the alleyway, so they basically couldn’t remove any trash from that room.”

Mr Sahlan noticed rubbish starting to accumulate in front of the flats because of the missed bin collections: “Practically everyone living here was putting it there, because it’s either there or inside your flat.”

A spokeswoman for Greenwich council said: “We are aware of a complaint from an Eltham resident regarding their neighbours’ waste. The properties involved are privately owned. Any dispute between tenants would be a civil matter and should be referred to the managing agent.”

Regarding the missed bin collections, the spokeswoman said: “There have been recent access issues due to works in the surrounding area which can explain a missed bin collection. A waste advisor will speak to both tenants to answer any questions they have around using the bins.”

The agency for the woman’s flat, London Cribs, was approached for comment.

Pictured top: The mountain of rubbish seen beside the resident’s flat in Eltham High Street (Picture: Joe Coughlan)