A HUGE pile of waste is blocking a Hockley road but won’t be removed by council bosses because the street is “unadopted”.

The dumped rubbish, including a sofa, wood, tiles and other mess, is blocking Plumberow Avenue, leaving residents frustrated.

The road is considered unadopted as it is not maintained by the council, The council will therefore not remove the flytip.

Gareth Randall, who has grown up in the town, said: “I occasionally use that road, and I specifically tried to use it on Thursday to avoid the temporary traffic lights plaguing Hockley from both ends.

“If it’s cleared up, someone will probably just dump there again. The only viable approach would be a proper camera-style system capable of getting a clear, readable recording of the plates of every vehicle using the road, even at night.

“As it’s an unadopted road the council won’t pay for it.”

 

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One resident posted online that she had cleared some of the waste and said it smelt “putrid.”

She removed dirty nappies, used underwear and food waste as well as encouraging others to help clean up the mess.

Danielle Belton, Tory councillor for Hockley and Ashingdon demanded fines of at least £1,000 for flytippers.

She said: “I’ve known it to happen here at least twice this year and have had residents call me about it.

“It’s extremely frustrating as it’s a private landowner but it’s a problem across the district.

“They are opportunists around every turn with a lack of respect for the district and they do this where they feel they can get away with it.

“We need more robust fines to act as a deterrent, a fine of a few hundred pound is not a deterrent. These people may then feel less inclined to dumped the waste and may consider getting a skip or something else.

“There are plenty of legitimate ways to dispose of waste like this.”

A spokesman for Rochford Council said: “Rochford Council has been informed of a fly tip in the private unmade section of Plumberow Avenue, Hockley.

“The landowner of the road has been made aware of the situation and hopefully will be cleared as soon as possible.”