DELAYS in the construction of a new sports hall at a Nelson school have led to people using the site as a dumping ground for rubbish.

Pendle Councillors Judith Robinson and George Adam said the site, behind Marsden Community Primary School in Percy Street, is becoming an eyesore.

Coun Robinson said: "With the delay the site is looking terrible. People are dumping all sorts of stuff. Coun Adam and myself, as representatives of Walverden Ward, have received a number of complaints from residents about the mess.

"We just want to know how long it will be before the sports hall gets built because in the meantime it is being used as a tip for household rubbish."

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said they would follow up the councillors' concerns by sending an officer to clean up the site. He also admitted the project was behind schedule, despite no official start date for the building works ever being set.

He added: "We hadn't been given a start date for the sports hall project but we had hoped to start work 12 months ago.

"It has been delayed while external funding for the new sports hall was tied up. But this has now been sorted out and we do have a start date for building work to begin, which is Monday, October 6."

He warned that anyone caught fly-tipping at the site would be prosecuted. He said: "Fly-tipping is illegal and can result in a maximum fine of £20,000 or imprisonment for those found guilty of an offence.

"As well as being against the law it can pose a serious health hazard. We can't say at the moment whether it is trade waste or household waste that has been dumped, but either way there are collection services people should use."