THIS was the scene on the doorstep of the district council offices in Taunton yesterday (Monday).

Former councillor and one-time Taunton Deane Borough Council leader Jefferson Horsely snapped the unsightly pile of rubbish near the local HQ of Somerset West and Taunton Council.

Mr Horsley is unsure how the mess at the Chip Lane end of the site came about - whether it was caused by seagulls, urban foxes or people.

He said: "It show how neglected our town centre is becoming with the loss of central government funding."

Mr Jefferson has passed on the details to Cllr Caroline Ellis, who succeeded him as the LibDem representative on the council.

He said: "I want to see what attempts can be made to reduce this and help the public understand the hardships local government has suffered from a combination of Whitehall cuts and incompetent wastefulness."

Cllr Ellis said: "The sooner problem waste is reported either through me (if North Town) or direct to council, the faster it gets sorted.

"Had this been reported earlier, frankly it would not be there.

"There’s no accounting for troublesome waste spreaders be they human or animalian.

"The latter will find it more difficult once we have replaced bins with ones that are covered - see the one by COACH in French Weir.

"Humans - no excuse, looks like maybe someone ditched a bag of rubbish there.

"In addition to street cleansing team who would have to come out pronto if summonsed, there are hordes of us with own litter picking kits who regularly blitz."