FLY-tippers have dumped piles of rubbish into a nature reserve brook.

Plastic bags, electrical goods, wooden boards, sponges and even a metal trolley were spotted strewn down a bank in the Seven Acres Country Park.

The pile of rubbish not only littered the bank of the park, located between Tonge Moor and Breightmet, but was also sinking into the waters of the brook.

The shocking sight was caught on camera by environmental campaigner Chris Banks, from Breightmet, who is a regular visitor to the reserve.

He said: "It always seems to happen off Thicketford Road where there is a stretch of land where people seem to go and dump there rubbish. Over a short period of time more and more household rubbish is appearing.

"It was swamped down into the main park, it's a constant problem, and once it's in the brook will be washed own into the rest of the park.

"In the past we've had conservation groups go down before and find enough to fill a dumper truck! I went a long recently and found a microwave and luggage.

"What we have at Seven Acres is quite unique, it is a shame how people are treating it but more could be done to prevent it from happening."

Bolton Council said it only had powers to remove fly-tipping on council-owned land and could not confirm who the land owner of the site were, but had passed on information about the incident to them.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust also continued to work in partnership with the land owners to help manage the site.

A spokesperson from the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside added: "Unfortunately fly-tipping is an issue we have to deal with across the region and work is done though regular community volunteer groups where one of their regular tasks is litter picking."