A Powys charity that helps those in financial need is facing a bill for hundreds after becoming a target for fly tippers.

Help our Homeless Wales, based in Builth Wells, has had its Llanelwedd community hub covered in rubbish after they were hit by flytippers.

"At our community hub in Llanelwedd in the past month we have become a fly tipping dump,” said founder and operations director Sarah Mason.

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“I paid for three fridges to be taken away that had been dumped on us that were broken but while I left them out to be collected other people started dumping fridges and sofas and now it is a massive load of rubbish.”

The charity offers a range of services including foodbanks, clothing, community hubs and warm spaces to people in the area suffering severe financial hardship but now are facing a large bill to remove the rubbish.

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“It will be about £300-400 to get it removed,” said Ms Mason. “I paid to get the fridges away because we don’t want it to look unsightly.

“With the weather picking up normally with our baby and toodler group, we’d close the gates put the barriers up and the kids would be playing but it’s just not safe.

“The council just came and said were really sorry we know you’re a self-funded charity and you don’t have the funds to get rid of it but here’s two signs and you’ll have to pay to get rid of it as it is private land.”

Ms Mason said that when she spoke to representatives of Powys County Council they said there was a “massive problem” with charities being the victims of fly tipping nationwide and according to Ms Mason did offer to put CCTV up and post signs up to see if they could identify registration numbers.

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A spokesperson for Powys County Council said: “The council’s waste awareness and enforcement team are aware of the fly-tipping issue at the headquarters of the Helping our Homeless Wales charity in Llanelwedd.

“As a local authority, we are only able to clear fly-tipped rubbish from public areas and not private land. Officers are working with the charity and are offering crime prevention and CCTV advice along with anti fly-tipping signage which can be used as a deterrent.

“The council has also offered to help with enforcement, if evidence of where the rubbish came from can be found amongst the dumped items, or via future CCTV footage.”