A derelict pub site in Ealing that became a swamp of fly-tipped rubbish has at last been cleared of an astonishing 250 tonnes of waste.

The White Hart pub on Church Road in Northolt was plagued with fly-tipping almost as soon as it was shut down in 2015.

Bought and boarded up by a company based in Harrow, the grade II listed building – which has roots at the site dating back to the 14th century – became illegally encamped by travellers. 

The community was twice evicted by the pub's new owners, Legend Property Investments, but the fly-tipping that began during their stay remained until a report to Ealing Council this summer prompted an inspection by envirocrime enforcement officers.

Prompted by a legal notice, Legend Property Investments have now cleared the waste which weighed 250 tonnes – equivalent to nearly 20 double decker buses.  

The land will now be monitored by the company to prevent ongoing anti-social behaviour, aided by new perimeter hoarding, iron gates, concrete blocks and regular inspections.

Councillor Deirdre Costigan, the council's cabinet member for climate action, said: "Sometimes, as they say, a picture paints a thousand words. And that is certainly true in this case. It is incredible to see how much waste was removed from this site.

"It is the responsibility of a landowner to remove waste from their land, even if the landowner is not the source of the rubbish. It is a shame that it took legal enforcement from the council to get that done, but we will not hesitate to issue such notices and I am pleased it was reported to us.

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"If you see a problem, please tell the council's envirocrime team. Landowners must not just wait around on a wasteland, they must keep sites in a safe condition.

"I know there are plans for a better future for the White Hart site, which will bring jobs and facilities to Northolt, instead of it sitting derelict."