A huge pile of rubbish - including "toxic" chicken manure - has been dumped outside Eastwell Church.

Local resident John Hardie said he thinks the rubbish was dumped yesterday (Tuesday).

He said: "I tried to contact Ashford Borough Council (ABC) but they say it is private lands and they have nothing to do with it.

"I don't see how it is private land as it's been dumped in a layby off a road.

"It's revolting and there is even chicken manure in there, which should not be dumped anywhere where with all the diseases around.

"It's toxic waste, so surely it's an environmental health problem?"

Mr Hardie said it is especially bad timing as the church is set to welcome families and young children to its Easter services this weekend.

He said: "Nobody seems to want to do anything about it.

"I just want somebody to clear it up. There will be a lot of children there over the weekend.

"It's Easter so there will be christian pilgrims going past the church, it's one of the main walking routes in the UK."

It comes just after worrying figures show a rise in cases of fly-tipping in Kent since 2013, although Ashford's figure has actually fallen.

Figures show councils dealt with almost 20,000 incidents of dumped rubbish in the past 12 months, a rise of about 3,000 compared to three years earlier.

There were a total of 19,547 cases in the 12 months from April last year, compared to 21,014 from 2014 to 2015 and 16,661 from 2013 to 2014.

Ashford’s fly-tipping figures have decreased from 946 in 2012-13 to 800 in 2015-16.

Nationally, councils reported 936,090 cases of fly-tipping in 2015-16, costing almost £50m to clear up.

ABC have been contacted for a comment.