MORE than 26,500 illegally dumped tyres have been cleaned up in a massive operation.
The tyres were dumped just 50 yards away from a terrace of houses at Craghead, near Stanley. The Fire Brigade had to be called in to help clear the area.
The clean-up operation, costing the tax-payer £23,000, began after a resident informed Derwentside District Council of the dump.
The council then called in the Environment Agency, which is investigating a number of suspects.
Environment protection officer for the Environment Agency, Ian McPherson, said the illegal dump could have led to a major environmental disaster.
He said: "Obviously nobody no one wants an unsightly tyre dump on their doorstep.
"One small fire could have become an inferno that could have burnt for days and resulted in the evacuation of numerous houses."
Darlington Fire Brigade and the agency provided guidance on the clearance of the tyres to Durham County Council, Derwentside District Council and the Durham County Waste Management Company.
The clean-up took contractors two weeks. There were about 280 tonnes of tyres. About 24,000 of them were car tyres and 2,500 commercial tyres. Most of the car tyres will be used as a fuel at a cement kiln works in Dunbar and the commercial tyres will be reprocessed.
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