Horsham town centre residents plagued by rats, flytippers, vandals and drug users

People living in Black Horse Way say they have had problems for the past two years in an alleyway near their homes.

“It’s been a nightmare, the whole thing,” said Adrienne Ingoldsby, whose home and that of her neighbours is within 10-feet of the walkway which is used to house large commercial waste bins.

“It’s dark, there are rats and the bins are frequently overflowing.”

She said firefighters were called to the area last week when two of the bins were set alight ‘right next to where we live.’

“It’s now become a flytipping area riddled with rats. It has got completely out of hand.”

She said the fire was the second time the bins had been set alight recently.

And, she said, the walkway - which leads from Black Horse Way to The Forum - had also become a dumping ground for people’s rubbish.

“Flytippers have left beds there, fridges and everything.”

She said the problems had worsened since lockdown. “Once you let one area of your town go, it attracts a whole lot of riff raff.

“We have druggies lurking around making a lot of noise.”

She said many complaints had been made about the area to Horsham District Council.

The council has been approached for comment.