A RUGBY club in Cwmbran has been devastated by a spate of fly-tipping at their ground.
Cwmbran RFC, based off Station Road in Pontnewydd, took to social media after finding people had been dumping household waste in their bins.
Local waste company GD Environmental came to the club's aid, emptying their bins for free - but within a matter of hours, the bins had been refilled with household waste.
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Manager Kelly Foster said the experience had left the club feeling "deflated."
"Very kindly some volunteers helped clear the car park at the start of lockdown," she said.
"In the weeks that followed the bins started to fill up. We didn’t notice straight away as we are not on site all the time. We noticed once the bin lids were not shutting.
(Waste piled on top of bins at Cwmbran RFC. Picture: Cwmbran RFC.)
"People had been throwing out household waste in our bins. We also had cases of people going through the bins, splitting the bags and spreading the waste everywhere.
"We have to pay to empty those bins before we re-open. One of the bins is mixed recycling, but that wouldn’t be accepted as it had mixed waste thrown in there too.
"It’s very clearly people having a clear out at home and dumping it in our bins. There were nappies and food waste in there.
"The bins were overflowing and people were even putting things on top.
"Someone abandoned three or four suitcases and that wasn’t even near the bins, it was up against the changing rooms."
(Suitcases left abandoned against the Cwmbran RFC changing rooms. Picture: Cwmbran RFC.)
After GD Environmental emptied the bins, some volunteers stayed to clear the remaining waste from the site.
"Not long after 10am, our team manager thanked the business for this, and we agreed to meet up at the ground. When the vice-chairman arrived at 1.30pm, they found the bins had been filled up again with PVC and plasterboard," said Ms Foster.
"It was as if they had seen the post, and thought now the bins were empty, they could go and dump their waste."
(Household waste fly-tipped at Cwmbran RFC. Picture: Cwmbran RFC.)
Having upgraded their CCTV before lockdown, the club appealed for the fly-tippers to take their waste back or they would report their details.
"It’s quite deflating to see our volunteers have given up their own time to clear the waste, and then someone just saw that and went and dumped their rubbish," said Ms Foster.
"We are a community club; we have no income; we are just trying to survive until we can open back up. It’s quite sad that people are kicking us while we are down."
The club has now gated off vehicle access to its ground, although Ms Foster said it is still accessible by foot.
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