Images showing hot tarmac overflowing from a road onto greenery in Wied Qirda are making the rounds on social media, and Zebbug local councillor Steve Zammit Lupi has hit out at the situation.

Local residents have also raised concerns and anger over the situation.

Writing on Facebook, Zammit Lupi described the it as the rape of the environment, and said that the path was being widened to 'improve' access 'without permission'.

The path tripled in size, Zammit Lupi explained, saying that some trees and rare flowers were cut down as a result.

Zammit Lupi says that the asphalt ended up there as the pathway gave way while a loaded truck was passing over it, which ended up head-first in the valley and needed to be lifted out by a crane.

The local council, he said, had filed a report with the ERA a week ago, "and yesterday the Mayor and I went on site together with Inspector Kylie Borg and Lands Department officials, as well as ERA officials," he said. "We asked that the works are halted immediately and that an investigation occurs."

"I remember Wied Qirda being in a bad state for as long as I remember, but what happened over the last week here is throwing salt in the wound."

This is not the only controversial situation in the valley. This newsroom has reported on an illegal concrete dam present on site for many years, however Infrastructure Malta has informed this newspaper that the illegal concrete dam that is blocking the watercourse will be removed.

Photos by Neil Camilleri