Civic chiefs have raised concerns after a large quantity of waste was fly-tipped on Portland.

The rubbish pile, which included discarded milk cartons, plastic bottles and yoghurt pots was discovered by a concerned member of the public in an alleyway behind homes at Coastguard Road, Fortuneswell.

It is believed someone took advantage of the secluded spot to dump the waste next to bins.

The incident was reported to the Dorset Waste Partnership which cleared the pile.

A spokesman for the Dorset Waste Partnership said: “While the incident wasn’t reported to us specifically as a fly-tip, it appears the waste has been deliberately dumped outside of the wheelie bins that were left for collection.

“Therefore, we would class this as fly-tipping.”

Councillor Kathy Garcia, who represents Tophill East on Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, said she was ‘appalled’ about the amount of rubbish which had been dumped.

She added: “I cannot understand why anyone would want to wantonly strew rubbish in this urban landscape, next to people’s gardens and over a public access route.

“We live in a beautiful part of the world and I, as well as others that I have spoken to, would like to keep it that way. “Behaviour such as this is totally unacceptable.

“Let’s all try to keep Portland looking lovely.”

Fly-tipping has been identified as one of most concerning types of crime which Dorset communities are most concerned about.

Martyn Underhill, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, who is a member of the National Rural Crime Network, said a “partnership action plan” was now in place to tackle fly-tipping.

Last year, Dorset County Council dealt with 2,803 flytipping incidents across the county costing the taxpayer more than £150,000, an increase from 1,997 in 2013 which cost taxpayers £120,000.

Mr Underhill stressed fly-tipping was a “complex issue” that required a “multi-agency approach”.

He added: “We have beautiful countryside right on our doorstep but it isn’t just attractive to us, it is also attractive to criminals.”

“Fly-tipping blights our rural landscape and has a detrimental impact on the environment as well as generally being an eyesore.”

The results of Mr Underhill’s crime survey also revealed that rural crime is “massively underreported”.

He added “We want to encourage people living and/or working in rural Dorset to report crime.”