Vehicles trashed in the hills off Westside Road are driving fury among area residents.

Just over the Easter long weekend an SUV was left up past the transfer station broken down, with all its windows smashed out and headlights broken. The discovery comes shortly after a motorhome was found in a nearby area in similar, if not worse, condition at the end of March.

Area residents have taken it upon themselves to try and find the rightful owners and have them deal with the trash.

“Please don’t litter in our paradise,” said Daryl Robertson, who posted photos of the vehicles on social media.

Sheldon Matte, of Dead or Alive Recycling, isn’t able to dispose of the motorhome as it is, but he is cleaning up the SUV after the original owners alerted him to it.

“It was a kid who bought it ‘for parts’ but never re-registered and broke it off-roading apparently,” said Matte.

“As an auto recycler I’m in a position that I can recycle the vehicle properly in an environmentally-conscious manner.”

Along with this eyesore, many other peices of trash are being littered along the Westside. But April marks an annual month-long initiative in the community to clean up what others carelessly leave behind.

“This has been done for 20 plus years in our area,” organizer Lydia Reith said. “We clean up along Westside Road for approximately 18 kilometres. Any dumping in the bush is cleaned up at that time also.”

Community members are urged to pitch in and help clean up.

Those who observe illegal use or abuse of natural resources can upload time-stamped photos or videos to the B.C. Wildlife Federation Conservation App.

“We need to all be working together to try and protect those areas,” Okanagan Basin Water Board’s Corinne Jackson said.

READ MORE: Okanagan forest cleanup crew in need of donations after truck breaks down

READ MORE: Puppy suspected as cause of Westside crash

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Vernon Morning Star