AN angry councillor has hit out at “selfish” flytippers dumping rubbish in the countryside during the coronavirus lockdown.

Kelvedon and Feering district councillor Paul Thorogood said he has had to report four individual cases of flytipping within his ward in the past few weeks.

Braintree Council says it has launched an investigation into the incidents but the culprits have not yet been caught.

Mr Thorogood, a member of the Green Party, said one of the flytips saw 15 bags of rubbish dumped in Highfields Lane, Kelvedon.

He said: “A team will come out and clean it up but that’s not the point.

“I know the recycling centre at Witham is temporarily closed because of the Covid-19 crisis and green bin collections are temporarily suspended, but the dumping of this rubbish in open countryside is a selfish act.

“I call it the ‘somebody else’s problem’ attitude of a small minority.

“It’s bad for the environment and bad for the taxpayer because that’s who will pay to clean it up.”

Mr Thorogood said Cuthedge Lane between Coggeshall and Bradwell has become a hotspot for flytipping with the other three incidents all occurring along the road.

He is urging anyone with information to come forward and help the council with the investigations.

He added: “One of the flytips was a wire shopping basket of drinks cans, another was three or four black bags of domestic waste and the final one was a glass window and frame - smashed, of course.

“I just don’t get the dumping of such waste. Aluminium cans are still be collected and recycled by the council and so are black bags.

“The collection of large bulky items has been temporarily suspended but why dump a window in the countryside with potential hazard it could cause pedestrians, motorists and wildlife? Totally mindless.”