A GROUP of Trafford residents have made protest against the level of service received by the council partnership, One Trafford.

LOVE Old Trafford (LOT), a group for residents aiming to make the area a better place to live held the protest outside the Town Hall, dressed as rats ahead of the executive meeting on Monday.

The council started a partnership between themselves and Amey in 2015 to create One Trafford. Their work includes: street cleaning, grounds maintenance and highways services.

The LOT group said: “Since this time, we feel that the level of service provided by One Trafford has declined. We witness overflowing litter bins, abandoned contaminated green bins, fly tipping is not removed promptly or investigated and streets are not swept properly and there have been reports of vermin sightings.

“Dressing as Rats and walking to Trafford Town Hall is our light-hearted way to protest at the level of service. Nobody wants to have Old Trafford overrun with rats."

Over 30 people walked from Ayres Road to Trafford Town Hall before the executive meeting that took place that evening.

The group took around 15 bins so the Town hall and left them there, as a stand against the work of Amey.

Liz Madge, member of LOT said: "We went down with the bins, sang songs outside, made our point and then left the bins there to be collected.

"It is quite ironic really because the bins were removed straight away - in Old Trafford have to wait at least 20 days.

"Councillors have shown their support and we will continue to do what we do until we get a result. We are proud of where we live and we don't want it ruined."

LOT's aim is to persuade Trafford Council to find another contractor to provide a better level of service.

Members of LOTS have recently met with MP Kate Green and representatives of Trafford Council where they expressed their frustrations.

They said: “On their part, they are collecting information about the level of service that Amey is providing and will be putting in place systems to monitor the contract more closely.”

The group ask everyone in the meantime, to report any environmental issues to Trafford Council www.trafford.gov.uk/residents/report-it.aspx.

A spokesperson for the One Trafford Partnership said: “We share Love Old Trafford’s passion for the local environment and are committed to ensure the borough remains a clean and attractive place for everyone.

"Throughout Trafford, we empty over 800 litter bins a day - collecting around 2.6 tonnes of litter. That’s over 80 tonnes a month. In August, alone, we collected 25.3 tonnes of fly-tipping from over 236 service requests.

"We acknowledge that although the high level of service may not always be met, we are working hard to keep Trafford a clean and pleasant place to live.

"Our team of Recycling Advisors and the Enforcement Team have visited Old Trafford to engage with residents, door to door, on more than one occasion, to ensure that everyone has all the recycling bins they need, know where to take their extra waste and deal with illegal dumping of waste. The teams were most recently on Prestage Street in Old Trafford on September 23 for a Be Responsible Event which included litter picks, free new bins for residents and the provision of a skip to dispose of waste that might otherwise have become fly-tipping.

"Keeping Trafford clean is everyone’s responsibility and we all need to play our part, so we thank the protestors for helping to raise the profile of our Be Responsible campaign.

"Fly-tipping and littering are illegal, unsightly and can spread disease. Anyone with extra waste or large unwanted items can dispose of them for free at a recycling centre or use the council’s bulky collection service.

"We would encourage anyone who sees a full bin to use another and report it to us. We know that a number of litter bins are being filled with household waste and fill up faster as a result. We will investigate these for evidence - but please report these to us and we will empty them.

"Any fly-tipping found on public land will be removed within 20 working days from when it is reported to us. Anyone who sees fly-tipping or a full litter bin can report it online at https://my.trafford.gov.uk or by calling 03330 035865.