A Mitcham woman said strewn rubbish and flytipping has made her area an 'absolute mess' for more than four years.

Grace Power, 33, said she has contacted Merton Council and Wandle Housing more than 100 times about the rubbish around bins in Peppermint Mews which she said has been a constant problem.

Miss Power said that she and other residents have been forced to look at rubbish which is not theirs, with people who live at the Wandle Housing property also not impressed by the overflowing rubbish that has been left outside the storage bins.

Miss Power, who lives in nearby Heyford Road close to where the bins are located, said she had to close her curtains when people visited to hide the mess away.

She said: "The main issue is that we at Heyford Road are forced to look at rubbish which is not ours.

“Obviously for the Wandle Housing tenants they don’t like it that the bins are overflowing and that people leave fridges and mattresses in their area.

She added: “Over the last four years, 80 per cent of the time there is either rubbish on the floor, coming out of bins or large fly tip items on display.

“We have to close curtains as it is such an eyesore, it’s so embarrassing when we have guests as it looks like we live next to a dump.

“For example on Tuesday a bed was dumped, Thursday a fridge was dumped and on Monday a chest of drawers were dumped.

“So it looked an absolute mess, when I come home or leave the house I can’t look at it as it stresses me out so much, it is not getting any better.”

Miss Power said she has phoned and emailed Wandle Housing and Merton Council more than 100 times over a four year period and even developed hives, which she attributes to the stress, in 2015.

She said: “These were a result of phoning most days and sending emails.

“I would leave the house and it would be a mess and then when I came back it would be even worse and I would go to sleep thinking about it. The bins would be the first thing I would see which stressed me out.”

She added: “After four years it gets to you.

“We live at a quiet cul-de-sac not a main road and so shouldn’t have to put up with these issues.”

A spokesperson from Wandle Housing said: “We are aware of an ongoing problem with fly-tipping on Heyford Road and are working to address it.

“Following initial reports, we enclosed the bins and met with Merton Council waste services and enforcement team, to create an action plan. As part of that plan, we spoke to local residents to remind them of the importance of using the bins correctly and to report any fly-tipping.

“We understand the impact fly-tipping has on local communities and as an identified problem area, Wandle contractors visit the site weekly to remove any dumped waste, in addition to the usual council collection.

“Unfortunately, fly-tipping is a nationwide problem, not just in this area and we encourage anyone with information about who the perpetrators are to contact us so that we can take further action.”