PILES of rubbish amassing near the tracks at a city centre railway station create a dreadful first impression for visitors, a councillor has warned.

Councillor Kevin Warnes said "staggering quantities" of waste were strewn on an embankment near platform 1b at Bradford Forster Square station.

But after reporting the problem to railway owner Network Rail, he was dismayed to be told the next clean-up was only due to take place in six months' time.

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He branded the situation "outrageous" and his comments have now been echoed by Bradford Council leader David Green, who called for the organisation to take action sooner.

Cllr Warnes said: "I have to say that I am very disappointed in Network Rail's response, bearing in mind the huge volume of litter that I have reported and the fact that this is a major station and gateway to our city.

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"I do not think that it is acceptable for Network Rail to leave this mess in situ until the end of November - and even this commitment, I note, is subject to 'resources permitting'.

"A delay of six months is ridiculous."

Cllr Warnes (Green, Shipley) wrote to Cllr Green to highlight his concerns.

In April, Cllr Green had said it was time Network Rail "upped its game" in dealing with litter on Bradford's railway tracks, after the Telegraph & Argus highlighted the scale of the problem in the city.

Yesterday, Cllr Green urged the organisation to consider its "civic responsibility" and clear up the mess at Forster Square as soon as possible, as it gave a poor first impression of Bradford.

He said: "I don't think a clean-up every six months is acceptable. I appreciate they haven't created the mess, but it is on their land and they have a duty to do it for their passengers and for this city.

"What I would also suggest they also do is talk to the adjacent landowners and see what they can do to try and prevent people littering and flytipping over the sides."

A spokesman for Network Rail said clean-ups had to be carried out when trains were not running, so they had to be carefully planned in advance.

He said: "Over the past five years Network Rail has cleaned the area from Bradford Forster Square to the football ground twice, each requiring three shifts to complete the clean-up fully.

"A further clean-up is scheduled for November this year which will take in the area from the station to the football ground as well as a further two-and-a-half mile stretch to Shipley, which we anticipate will take two weeks and will cost around £40,000.

"We are also working closely with the local authority to try and reduce such anti-social behaviour."