Firefighters spent Monday tackling a fire at a suspected illegal waste dump in woodland near the Carrington Spur in Trafford, Greater Manchester, close to the River Mersey. Crews wearing breathing apparatus were called at 11:30 BST after reports of smoke, and although parts of the site reignited while smouldering, they managed to stop the fire spreading. The incident has renewed concerns from local residents about a growing, unregulated tip that they say increasingly contains hazardous builders' and household waste.

Burned material at the site included old mattresses, a fridge freezer, tyres, a cement mixer, wood panelling and builders' waste. Local dog walkers said they had reported the dumping and even seen lorries unloading rubbish there, with the Environment Agency confirming in July it was aware of the site and had referred it to its enforcement team; a criminal investigation is now under way. Trafford Council said it was supporting Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service's response, while the case echoes a wider BBC investigation this year that found hundreds of illegal dumps across England, some run by organised crime gangs exploiting cheaper, illegal waste disposal.