SPRING is in the air but outdoor types who enjoy a walk down a country lane on the Atherton and Tyldesley border are not impressed by the sights that confront them.

Mounds of worn out car tyres, the odd settee or chair, empty gas cylinders, asbestos sheets, rolls of carpets, paint cans and a digital microwave have overtaken wild flowers in the race for space down Engine Lane.

Over the past few months a regular dog walker has contacted the Journal on at least three occasions complaining that despite calls to the local authority dating back a year the rubbish continues to pile up. And on each of those occasions the Journal has passed on those complaints to Wigan Council.

Last week we sent photographer Colin Lyne to capture the mess, advising him to carefully avoiding the manhole with the missing cover on Shakerley railway bridge.

Turning right into Engine Lane he reckoned was like entering Fort Dunlop in its heyday. Over 200 old car tyres have been tipped near the Atherton-Manchester railway line in three separate places and there's an assortment of unsightly rubbish scattered alongside the lane.

Country lovers who alerted us have suggested barriers allowing access to farmers, walkers and horse riders could be placed at the entrance to Engine Lane and the farm track section of Common Lane in Tyldesley to beat the rogue tippers.