Visitors to the popular Wied iż-Żurrieq yesterday would have found piles of rotten rubbish if they ventured off the tourist path.

Household waste and junk was strewn across a large patch of the rocky valley, some of it just metres from the staircase that leads to the bathing area.

The Times visited the area following complaints from readers who were disgusted at the state of such a prime beauty spot, which is the departure point for boat trips to Blue Grotto.

In the rocky scrubland close to boathouses, homes and workshops, a hotchpotch of decaying items combined to create a pungent smell.

There were jerry cans, clothes, tyres, cups, cement bags, crates, batteries, rubbish bags, cardboard boxes and even two large rotten fish heads.

A short distance away on the approach road, Wied iż-Żurrieq Road, there was more evidence of dumping: an old road sign stuck out of a prickly pear tree amid more cardboard boxes and containers.

After being contacted, Cleansing Department director Carmel Zammit personally led a cleaning team to the area but when he arrived he said the mess was the responsibility of Qrendi council.

Mr Zammit said the waste appeared to have come from residents or occupants of boathouses and workshops, adding that his team would check their areas of responsibility while there to ensure they were clean. When contacted, Qrendi mayor Carmel Falzon said he was unaware of any problems with rubbish in Wied iż-Żurrieq.

“It could be that the area you are referring to is private and so we would not have to take care of it,” he said.

Asked if the council-funded refuse collection reached residents in that area, the mayor again replied that he was unsure as he did not know if the area was private.

“I will visit the area myself, probably tomorrow,” the mayor said.

In the meantime, nobody is taking responsibility for the area.