FLYTIPPERS have come under fire from a councillor who says he is outraged at the amount of rubbish dumped.

A lorry load of rubbish has been dumped in Lanhams Court, Pitsea which contains an array of old televisions, clothing and homeware.

David Burton-Sampson, councillor for St Martin’s ward called for action against flytipping which has been a growing issue in the borough over the past few years.

He said: “People need to understand that any fly tipping is totally unacceptable.

“The council will take a firm stance on this issue and they will find out who the perpetrators are, as the council has done in the past.

“It is a blight on our society.

“We will have enforcement action taken against anyone who is caught doing this.

“Ultimately, it is really not on for people to behave in this way in a decent community we have in our borough.”

Mr Burton-Sampson expressed major concerns that the issue could be damaging to Pitsea’s image.

The rubbish is set to be cleared by the council quickly but Mr Bruton-Samson fears it could have lasting effects on the area which is not as well off as many others in Basildon.

He said: “The sad thing is that it is a regular occurrence.

“The message we are giving is that the council will be taking action and we will continue to do so as this is a really big issue not just in Basildon but across Essex.”

The council announced in August last year it was spending around £70,000 a year in order to combat the issue.

The announcement came after three piles of wooden planks, plasterboard, trees and other garden and house hold waste was dumped in Burnt Mills Road, Pitsea.

Mr Burton-Sampson hopes that the issue will not tarnish Pitsea, especially because of the work the council has done to combat it.

He said: “It affects the image of the whole area, it affects how people perceive Pitsea and the rest of the borough.

“The council is being pro active in clearing any areas that have been dumped on.

“We have employed more teams to deal with this issue on a reaction basis.”

Mr Burton-Sampson called for the people who are thinking of flytipping or have done so in the past to consider what it is doing to the communities they are dumping in.

He said: “It is everybody in this area who has to pay for things like this.

“Their council tax has to go on clearing these tips and therefore everybody is paying the price for it.”

Mr Burton-Sampson said that he hopes the council will act quickly to stop flytipping become a prolonged issue in Basildon. He hopes that the council will take action stop flytipping happening in the future.