VERMIN and dumped rubbish have turned a piece of wasteland in the heart of Teignmouth into a festering eyesore.

Now fed-up residents in historic French Street are demanding the site is cleaned up, and they have the backing of councillors.

Teignbridge Council told the Post it would consider legal action to enforce a clearance if the owner does not cooperate voluntarily.

The triangle of land is only a few yards from the town centre, where hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on regeneration.

It used to be the site of the former Courtenay Garage, which was demolished and planning consent given for five flats.

But developers appear to have come and gone for various reasons, and the plot is still empty.

It is a sea of weeds and junk, and residents in French Street – the oldest part of Teignmouth – are in despair that anything will be done.

'I have seen rats running around there, and the land is overgrown with weeds, and people are using it as a tip, dumping sofas, fridges and all sorts of things,' said resident Dennis Ash, 75, who used to be landlord of the Half Moon pub.

'Everybody along here has taken the trouble to spend time and money on making the terrace attractive, but it is very disheartening when we have this awful eyesore right in front of us. Besides looking terrible, it could also devalue our properties.'

He added: 'We asked Teignbridge Council to help, but nothing has happened yet. I am sure the council could order the owner, whoever that might be, to clear the site and fence it, or otherwise send in their own workforce to do the work, and give the owner the bill.

'Alternatively, Teignbridge could obtain the land and turn it into a public open space, as they have done elsewhere. We were against the flats being built because we think it is over-development, but that would be better than allowing it to remain an ugly wasteland.

'Looking out the front window and seeing rats running around is not at all pleasant, and we are concerned they might get into our homes. It is a real health threat.'

Town and district councillor Sylvia Russell said she had every sympathy with the residents.

She said: 'I have been there many times to try and help, and the land is a real disgrace. There is a nest of rats there – I have seen them myself – and there was also an exposed pipe with a 'Danger' notice beside it, but that now seems to have been covered in weeds. Nobody seems to know what the pipe was for.

'The residents regularly used to win prizes in the Teignmouth in Bloom competition, but they have not entered recently, which is not surprising.

'I am sure it would not take too much effort on Teignbridge's part to trace the owner and order a clean-up on health and environmental grounds, and I will be asking them to do that.'

Fellow ward member, Cllr David Weekes, shared the concern, and also pledged to put pressure on the district authority to act.

He said: 'This is a lovely, old part of the town which we need to enhance and preserve. French Street will become even more used by locals and visitors when the museum extension is built, and this dump is a very poor advert for our town.'

Cllr Gordon Hook, Teignbrige Council spokesman for the environment, said they were aware of the issues in French Street, and appreciated the concerns.

'We are committed to achieving an environment that is free of litter, and are currently considering what action can be taken to help improve the site.

'The land is privately owned, and is the responsibility of the owner to keep clean, and we have contacted the owner to emphasis this requirement.

'If this does not work, we will carefully consider taking enforcement action, requiring the site to be cleared, although legal action is only taken as a last resort.

'We would very much hope the owner takes responsibility without the need for legal proceedings, and cleans the site as quickly as possible.'