The grim tales behind Merseyside’s worst grot spots were revealed by the man whose job it is to tidy them up.

Wirral Council has launched a new scheme called Neat Streets, aimed at blitzing Birkenhead’s alleyways and fly-tipping across the peninsula, as well as asking the community for help in keeping the area clean afterwards.

On Tuesday, officers began scouring some of the worst-affected parts of the Ilchester Park area, including alleys filled with discarded mattresses and household goods, as well as large amounts of rubbish and oil spilled and just left.

Within an hour of arriving, the team had already filled almost an entire van with black bags and bulky fly-tipped items, all taken from the same alleyway.

On Tuesday, the Local Democracy Reporting Service went out with the council’s Neat Streets squad as the scheme was launched.

The squad was part-led by a group that included officer Daniel Molyneux, who revealed some of the recent incidents his team had experienced.

Speaking about one fly-tipping incident in Tranmere earlier this month, he said: “There were over 150 domestic refuge bags put out in the space of a week at the entry to a property. We think it had all been fly-tipped, and a third, we suspect, was cannabis leaves and plant residue.”

He said the council reported it to the police, adding: “The pile was huge. You could smell it from miles away.”

On a separate incident that happened about a month ago, he said: “I found five separate deposits of asbestos in different parts of the borough. These were considerable amounts we’re talking about, and I had to get a specialist team to come out and deal with it, and re-bag it up.

“These were five deposits totalling eight to ten tonnes of asbestos, and cost the council £10,000 to clear.

“I ended up viewing 15 to 20 hours’ of CCTV trying to identify the culprit, but I couldn’t in the end. I had a whole week written off trying to establish who did it.”

Neat Streets is set to last for three weeks, targeting eight specific neighbourhoods, with Ilchester Park the first.

As well as the above, it will aim to door-knock residents to “remind them what their responsibilities are”, empty all contaminated bins, and remove all brown bins where there is no garden waste subscription.

It will also establish whether landlord properties can work with the council to resolve fly-tipping issues, carry out a “thorough cleanse of various areas”, and “educate” people in terms of dog control and related offences.

On Tuesday, Mr Molyneux said the Birkenhead area had been targeted due to its reputation as one of Merseyside’s poorest.

But it’s also due to the area’s population being “transient” – those living in housing association or cheaper accommodation, often moving on after a relatively short space of time. That means, Mr Molyneux said, not always “respecting” their communities, like those in areas such as Caldy or New Brighton may do.

A fellow officer on site in Birkenhead on Tuesday added: “I’ve been working in Wirral for 24 years, and you see some sights. Sometimes, it’s overwhelming. You think ‘how can people generate so much rubbish?’

“I’ve got two teenage sons and a wife. You think where does it come from? It’s phenomenal. People think if they throw things in an alleyway behind their house it’s not their responsibility. We want them to know that it is their responsibility.”

Mr Molyneux said Neat Streets was a “starting point”, and a “big broom for Birkenhead”, unlike anything that’s been done for years.

“This is large scale. We want the community to take over and take pride in where they live – that’s the sustainable aspect to all of this.

“We are hoping to be able to get streets and alleyways cleaned and to a standard so that type of regime is adopted and they start to take pride in the community. We need a clean slate.

“It’s us saying ‘here you are, we’ve done our best to make all the problems go away’. It’s about getting rid of everything and starting afresh.”

Julie McManus, cabinet member for community services, said on Tuesday: “We are absolutely committed to addressing environmental issues in our communities and the Neat Streets campaign in Birkenhead is just the latest in a number of efforts the council, working alongside residents and other agencies, is making to further improve our neighbourhoods.

“What Neat Streets is also about, though, is talking and listening to residents to find out things that we can do better to help them to make a difference. So while we are tidying up alleyways, cleaning up graffiti and picking up litter, we’re also sharing information and advice to try and minimise the impact of potential issues before they arise.”

Mike Cockburn, lead commissioner for environment, at the council, added: “This is one of the most important things we are doing this year. It’s not going to be achieved over night, but we have got high hopes.”