A LYE businessman who has taken a stand against litter and fly-tipping has launched his bid to become a Dudley councillor.

Gary Farmer will be standing in local elections on May 2 for the Lib Dems in the Lye and Stourbridge North ward.

Mr Farmer will be one of three candidates for the party in the election which will see all 72 Dudley Council seats up for grabs.

Gary Farmer said: “Lye is a mess, the council and our councillors have let our town down for years. Their cuts and reckless spending will only hurt our town even more.”

The community stalwart is well-known in Lye for his weekly litter picking exploits over the past five years and claims to have collected 1,500 bags of litter.

Mr Farmer, who runs Poshkutz Dog Grooming on Lye High Street, will be joined by Lib Dem candidates Naz Ahmed and Steve Parrish for Lye and Stourbridge North.

The seat is currently held by Labour’s Mohammed Hanif and Pete Lowe plus Conservative Dave Borley.

Mr Farmer has previously clashed with ward councillors after he accused them of not joining him for litter picks.

Cllr Lowe rubbished Mr Farmers’ claim saying he regularly reports problems and ensures action is taken while Cllr Borley insisted the criticism was incorrect and he assisted by meeting campaigners and ensuring they were supplied with necessary equipment.

The Lib Dems only current member of Dudley Council, Cllr Ryan Priest, said: “Lye and Stourbridge North deserves better than the years of being taken for granted by Labour, this once great town has gone to pot on Labour’s watch.”

Mr Farmer is no stranger to elections in Lye, in 2022 he got 280 votes (9.45 percent) standing for the Libertarian Party and in 2021 he polled 273 votes (8.43 percent), also for the Libertarians.

In 2019 Mr Farmer had more success as a Black Country Party candidate when he took 21.8 percent with 595 votes.