An action group is appealing to City of York Council to prosecute illegal fly-tippers.

The Friends of the Lanes group was formed 18 months ago to clean up Bad Bargain Lane and Outgang Lane, in York, to keep them open to walkers, cyclists and horse-riders.

Malcolm Kettlestring, a member of the group, said promises by the council to bring in surveillance at the ends of both lanes to catch fly-tippers, have come to nothing.

He said Outgang Lane is blocked with piles of conifer branches reaching 8ft into the air and it is impossible for people to gain access to the public right of way.

He said: "We set about tidying it up because it was an absolute disgrace.

"We've had a concrete block put at the Osbaldwick end of Outgang Lane to stop people driving up it and dumping things, but they just put it at the other side of the block instead.

"We gave the council a car number to prosecute somebody because we had seen them dumping things.

"But nothing seems to have been done about it.

"It's all right them spending all this taxpayers' money clearing it up but all we want is somebody to be prosecuted.

"I'm not saying it's travellers who are tipping it. We see quite a lot of vehicles and lorries up there and we suspect it's these people who go round houses offering to get rid of garden waste for £10.

"Instead of going to the tip they're dumping it anywhere and this is what they're doing.

"They only need to prosecute a couple of people and that will stop it happening."

A spokesman for City of York Council said: "We are determined to take action to tackle this problem but we are not going to reveal how and when we are planning our surveillance because that would somewhat defeat the object."