A massive clean-up operation will be needed to tackle a "mind-boggling" mass of junk discovered by green campaigners Keep Bermuda Beautiful.

One person appears to be living in a stone hut among the bags of clothing, tents, bulky household items, bikes and a huge collection of old car batteries off North Shore Road, Devonshire.

Numerous large rats have also made themselves at home — and one of them clearly didn't fancy having its picture taken because it bit The Royal Gazette's photographer.

Keep Bermuda Beautiful executive director Richie Lathan found the dumping site, covering an area of about 150 metres by 20 metres, after nipping through a gap in the hedge.

Mr. Lathan said there were seven or eight known major dumping sites around the Island, but he had never before seen anything like this one.

Describing what he saw, he told this newspaper: "Car batteries. I can't tell you how many piles of car batteries were there. And that's an environmental concern on its own.

"Bags of clothing, old bike parts, the usual bottles and plastic containers that have become the bane of our lives. Oh gosh. Pots and pans. There were so many other things. An old trampoline, old tents.

"I'm not sure if its someone living in the area or if someone is hoarding stuff there. It boggles my mind. I suspect someone's living there. There's a makeshift door on the hut.

"You smell the site before you see it. Those bags of clothing ... perfect for rats."

Mr. Lathan said he would be getting in touch with Works and Engineering to ask for trucks to help with the clean-up on Saturday, April 26, while a big team of volunteers would also be needed.

"I'm going to put all our resources into getting that site cleaned up," he said. "We need people to volunteer and we'll ask everyone to come down and help us."

He said a potential solution to roadside dumping would be to give park rangers and waste management workers enforcement powers when they catch people in the act.

Reaction to our front page "Let's Fix It" trash pictures continues to come in. One reader wrote yesterday: "Maybe it could be a make-work project for criminals in custody?"

Earlier this week, Works Minister Derrick Burgess urged people to take their garbage to Tynes Bay Incinerator and called for the public to call the Police or Government when they spot roadside dumpers.

What do you think? E-mail your thoughts or photographs of garbage to news (AT) royalgazette.bm.