COLCHESTER has been revealed to be the most besieged area in Essex for fly-tipping, with thousands of incidents having to be dealt with on a yearly basis.
Over the last four years the borough has fallen victim to more than 13,000 cases of illegally dumped waste, which makes for the highest figure in the county.
In Tendring fly-tippers only struck 4,035 times in the same period while the total number of fly-tips across Essex was revealed to be just shy of 46,000.
The damning statistic was obtained as part of a series of Freedom of Information requests sent to 12 councils in Essex by the Local Democracy Service.
Although Colchester Council could not provide data on how much was spent clearing up fly-tips, other Essex authorities have forked out more than £840,000 since 2019.
Colchester resident Simon Rigo, who regularly conducts litter-pics in the borough with a view of keeping it looking presentable, called for harsher punishments.
Currently, anyone found to be bulk dumping waste can be slapped with a £200 Fixed Penalty Notice or they could be taken to court where a fine could be unlimited.
He said: “Fly-tipping is disgusting and there is no need for it and those responsible should be made to pick up litter for 100 hours or more.
“If it is really bad, there should be jail time, but that will never happen – the council do not investigate enough and there needs to be more bins.”
Simon Crow, Colchester councillor responsible for environment and sustainability, said: “It never ceases to make me angry that a small minority of people seem intent on spoiling our surroundings for others.
“Every time the council have to clear up fly-tipping it uses up valuable staff time and resources which ends up costing all of us.”
Bosses at Colchester Council, however, say they always react quickly once alerted.
A spokesman for the authority said: “Unfortunately, since the pandemic began, we have seen a general increase in fly-tipping across the borough, which has put a huge strain on our resources.
“But we have nevertheless, in very trying circumstances, stepped up patrols of known hotspots on council land.
“This has resulted in 79 FPNs being issued in the year April 2021 to March 2022.”
Simon Crow is standing for election in the Castle ward at next month’s elections. The other candidates are Martin Gillingham (Lib Dem), Richard Kirkby-Taylor (Green), Alan Short (Lab).
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