MORE than £20,000 in fines have been handed out in just six months to people illegally dumping rubbish in Thurrock.

Thurrock Council has been cracking down on flytipping, and has handed out 52, £400 fines since April.

£400 pound is the maximum fine the council to hand out in relation to small scale flytipping, while large scale dumping becomes a crimincal matter.

Rob Gledhill, leader of Thurrock Council, said: “Fly-tipping is a selfish and disgusting act and we will take all possible action to ensure that those who use our borough as a dumping ground face the consequences of their actions.

“Our officers investigate every instance of illegally dumped waste to recover evidence of where it came from. This evidence is used to prosecute whoever is responsible, either the criminals who flytipped the waste or irresponsible residents who allowed their waste to be dumped.

“A £400 fixed penalty notice is the maximum fine we can issue and is only used for small-scale flytips. Those responsible for larger dumps, or anyone who doesn’t pay their fixed penalty notice, will face a criminal prosecution which could land them in Magistrates court and see them end up with a fine of up to £50,000 or a 12 month prison sentence.

“There is no need for anyone to flytip; the council offers an excellent bulky waste removal service which I have used on many occasions. It’s simple and easy to use.”

Alternatively, the Linford Household Waste and Recycling Centre is open 8am-5pm - or until 4pm in the winter - seven days a week.

Under the law householders are responsible for how their waste is disposed of and can face a fine or criminal prosecution if they pay a rogue trader to take their waste and it ends up being flytipped.

Fly-tipped waste can be reported at thurrock.gov.uk/fly-tipping

Arranging for bulky waste to be collected is a simple matter of booking a collection online at thurrock.gov.uk/bulky-waste