RUBBISH has been dumped across the ground surrounding Canvey Lake and on nearby streets, sparking calls for CCTV to deter flytippers. 

A Canvey councillor has pointed the finger at “selfish” residents who got collection days wrong over the Christmas period for the mess surrounding the lake. 

On Sunday, frustrated residents spotted piles of black bags, food waste, cushions and nappies on the green space surrounding the lake, as well as in Denham Road. 

Residents have claimed it is a frequent issue in the area, demanding CCTV is put in place to catch any offenders and put off anyone considering dumping rubbish. 

Canvey resident John Flynn said: “The condition of the lake is bad enough because of neglect, so this problem could make things worse, apart from plastic possibly ending up in the water, the food waste could be toxic to the birds and animals that live there.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this problem over there, but not beside the lake before.”

Canvey resident Sean Quartermaine, 28, added: “As far as I am aware, fly-tipping hasn’t been a major issue thankfully in recent years, hopefully this won’t become a more frequent problem, though, I think a lot of residents will be concerned.

“There’s a risk of it becoming more common, especially if there are no consequences for whoever has started fly-tipping recently, I’m sure that having CCTV installed at key points at the lake would act as a deterrent to many types of crime or anti-social behaviour being committed there, fly-tipping included.

“Even if CCTV failed as a deterrent, it would at least provide evidence to the police to assist with their investigations.”

Canvey independent councillor John Anderson hopes it is just a case of residents getting bin collections confused over the Christmas period, rather than prolific flytippers targetting the area.   He said: “It sounds like it’s a selfish thing, someone has obviously gotten the rubbish pickup days wrong, that is not a usual thing.

“It’s Castle Point Council’s responsibility over the holidays, everyone has different boxes and when the Castle Point refuse tucks come, they are going to have built up amounts of rubbish.”