MORE than 4,300 fines have been handed out to fly-tippers in Basildon in the past year, new figures show.

Basildon Council began trialling increased action in February last year to crackdown on rising levels of fly-tipping.

Since the trial began on February 1, 4,334 fines have been handed out to residents for dumping waste - making the council £21,221.50 in funds from penalty notices.

There have been 21 complaints over the penalties since the enforcement began, but only four of these have been upheld and three partially upheld.

The trial concludes in April, but chairman of the committee David Harrison expects it to be extended.

He said: “It’s been very successful, we need to look if there has been any teething problems.

“That’s to be decided in April. Looking at it I think it would be continued after the success.

“It’s definitely a deterrent, and then word gets out so hopefully it will stop some people taking the action. It will never stop everyone.”

The trial followed a significant increase in fly-tipping incidents since 2018.

Recent fly-tipping cases in the Basildon borough include Georgina Buckley, 26, of Eastbrooks Place, Basildon, who on January 15 this year was fined £275 for dumping multiple items including a fridge freezer and seven bags of soil on council land in front of her property.

Kelly Tarling, of Timberlog Lane, Basildon, also left nine black sacks and two pink sacks at the recycling bank at Timberlog Lane, after missing her waste collection day.

The 35-year-old was ordered to pay a total of £592 including a £200 fine in November.

The trial saw Basildon Council join forces with National Enforcement Solutions.

The report said: “NES officers have undertaken 763 investigations of fly-tipped waste across the borough during the first six months of the trial.

“There has also been further out-of-hours monitoring and investigation undertaken across the borough, focusing on public parks, football pitches and areas where joint operations were being undertaken.”