Steve Winspear who lives in Market Square opposite The Shambles is angry that public litter bins are being used to dump household waste. Black bin bags are also being left in the street.

One bag that was discarded last Thursday (1 May) was full of sanitary waste, cigarette butts and food wrappers, some of which had spilled out of the bag and was left behind when it was taken away.

Mr Winspear said the problem had been ongoing for four years and was beginning to affect his home life: "Residents in Church Street are putting household waste into the litter bins. When it is warm the smell is ridiculous. One bin is under my kitchen window and the other is under the bedroom window."

The rubbish escaping from the bags and the bins are attracting seagulls, particularly at this time of year when they are feeding their young.

Mr Winspear believes the people staying in the neighbouring holiday cottages could be contributing to the problem as it is worse at weekends. He said: "The owners of the cottages won't pay for the rubbish to be taken away. It's about time the council started looking after local people, even if they just put signs up saying 'don't put household waste in these bins'."

After complaining to the council some years ago which failed to solve the problem, Mr Winspear has resorted to asking the bin men for help.

He said: "Last time I complained was about three or four years ago but nothing has been done. I have asked the drivers of the rubbish trucks on numerous occasions to ask their bosses if they can do something."

Steve Reynolds, Scarborough Council's environment manager said: "The illegal use of street litter bins for the disposal of household and/or commercial waste is a problem that can occur anywhere in the borough.

"We are now tackling this issue head on and over the last month have prepared 10 cases for formal prosecution and a similar number of fixed penalty notices have been issued.

"We are clamping down on this behaviour and have increased the patrols of our waste enforcement unit to increase the evidence we collect. However we do need more help from residents in terms of identifying the perpetrators so we can tackle those responsible."

Anyone who has any information on the origin of this material can call in confidence on (01723) 232323 or email flytipping@scarborough.gov.uk