Work began yesterday on clearing an illegal dump near Shek O's main beach, after residents sent in a letter demanding a cleanup. Workers from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department moved in about 9am to clear the massive pile of junk, which included broken chairs, electrical appliances and sacks of rubbish. About 15 workers formed a human chain to remove the garbage from the site. The workers focused on an area that backs onto a stream and managed to clear a large quantity before they finished at 3pm. Lau See-nun, owner of the barbecue restaurant located directly across from the dump, said the rubbish 'definitely had a negative effect on business'. 'It's being cleaned up now and that's great,' Mr Lau said. 'I'd really like to thank the media for drawing attention to this. We should have done something about this a long time ago.' Residents who live up a path behind the dump were also pleased. 'Shek O beach can be a peaceful place to enjoy and they have a good team cleaning there already. The community needs to be more responsible in the future,' said one resident who wished to remain unnamed. A spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department, which also sent a team to Shek O yesterday, said it doubted the dump had a negative impact on the water quality at the beach, despite the fact high tides flood the area. The spokesman also said no chemical waste was found. Residents sent a complaint to the three departments at the weekend detailing the extent of the 1,800 sq ft dump and demanding it be cleared. The cleanup is expected to take three days to complete.