Piles of rubbish strewn across a business estate - attracting rats and foxes - has prompted pleas from businesses for Wimbledon's greyhound stadium owners to clean up their act.
Occupants of the Wimbledon Stadium Business Centre in Riverside Road say they are faced with eight wheelie bins worth of rubbish after weekend markets held in the grounds of the Wimbledon Stadium.
The business owners believe it is harming their trade.
But stadium manager Keith Hallinan refutes claims it is the fault of the market, but held a meeting last week with the market operators and has agreed to bring the cleaning back in-house, having previously employed a contractor to tidy up.
He said: "We will get rid of the people that are currently cleaning.
"I am not convinced it is all the market's rubbish.
"I don't think a lot of it is being generated by us."
Derek Smith, managing director of Holman & Williams (Packaging) Ltd, said: "We have the markets twice a week and the rubbish has got to ridiculous proportions.
"They used to be very efficient about a year ago but on a Monday and Thursday it's appalling.
"Why should we clear up rubbish from someone else?"
Mr Smith is one of the business people who have got together to employ a cleaner, which has cost them extra funds on top of business rates and running costs at the estate on the Wandsworth and Merton border.
Cyril Waterman, 81, has run the weekend car boot sales and Sunday market at the stadium as part of Sherman and Waterman Associates Limited for decades.
Mr Waterman said: "From next weekend the onus will be taken from us - we are off the hook, the stadium will take the cleaning off us.
"It is very hard work, we have stewards but they can't see everything.
"The public are very untidy.
"It's one of those things.
"We have been there for 30 years - we can't help it if someone opens a carrier bag of rubbish and it blows away."
Market visitor Tony Robinson said the market had always been very stringent with cleanliness.
He said: "When we have been there a lot of people to clear the rubbish.
"We see them sweep up - they have been very stringent in cleanliness."
Rubbish at Wimbledon stadium 'at ridiculous levels'
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