BASILDON Council has issued its first £1,000 fine for flytipping as it continues its crackdown on unscrupulous crooks dumping waste across the borough.

Figures revealed in August showed that Basildon Council ranked third for the most fixed penalty notices dished out for flytipping in the 2021 to 2022 financial year.

During that year, 6,240 fixed penalty notices were handed out by the council.

This week, Basildon Council revealed it issued its first £1,000 fine as it continues to tackle those who fly tip.

Andrew Baggott, leader of Basildon Council, said: “I hope this sends out a strong message.

“We will enforce. We will find you and fine you.

“We have said with somethings there is a process of education, then enforcement, but we do think when it comes to flytipping it is pretty obvious if you fly tip, so there is less education that should be needed.

“The good-hearted public and the right-thinking people are behind the fact we are enforcing.

“It is unsightly, it sends a wrong impression of what the area is about, and it plays into the broken window scenario that if you are in an area that looks run down, people think they can do what they want, they don’t care about the area, and it leads to all the dominos falling down at the same time.

“Whereas when you take pride in the area, and it looks good, people are more resistant to make the place look worse.

“We want to empower people to take pride in their communal areas and communities.”

Kevin Blake, councillor responsible for environment, carbon reduction, and waste enforcement, added: “We just had our first £1,000 fine, which I am delighted about.

“Let me tell you now, we are not going to stand for it.

“Please everyone, use a reputable company to get rid of your waste because it is the environment we have got to look after.

“The soil gets contaminated, the water gets contaminated. This is our future, your children’s future.

“Please look after our environment. If you fly tip in Basildon, expect to be caught and expect to be fined.”

If you see any fly-tipping in Basildon, you can report it via www.basildon.gov.uk/reportonline