BASILDON has almost three times more fly-tipping incidents than anywhere else in south Essex as bosses continue to crack down on dumped rubbish.

Government data released yesterday shows that there were 3,451 incidents of fly-tipping in the borough for the 2019/20 financial year.

While this is a decrease from the 3,665 incidents reported the previous year, Basildon’s figure is still thousands higher than any other south Essex borough.

Southend had 886 incidents, while Castle Point had 933 and Rochford had 493.

Basildon Council leader Gavin Callaghan said that the borough has eight “hot spots” for flytipping, including parts of Felmores and Chalvedon in Pitsea, the Frettons estate in Basildon and Helmores in Laindon.

He said: “We know that part of the problem in Basildon is around the designs of the estates.

“They are not particularly good, with lots of alleyways and dark corners, predominantly that’s where the tipping takes place.

“We have prosecuted more people in the last year then we have done for 20 years, but we know there are hundreds more.”

The figures show 1,178 incidents of fly-tipping on highways, with 306 in back alleyways.

There were also 61 tipper lorries that dumped their loads illegally, costing £21,350 to remove.

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

Earlier this month the council revealed it had dished out 1,334 fines since it applied increased enforcement action in February 2020, and made £21,221 from the fixed penalty notices.

David Harrison, chairman of the neighbourhoods and public spaces committee, said there were 15 per cent of neighbourhoods which has difficulties with collections, meaning they are more likely to fly-tip.

He said: “We might need to collect more frequently in those areas, we might not.

“We’ve set up a waste strategy group which is cross party and we’re working hard on the problem.”

Gareth Lloyd-Jones, managing director of rubbish clearance firm Hippo, said: “We believe there is a need to better educate people on the impact of fly-tipping, in order to encourage a sea-change in this concerning trend.

“It is not only damaging to the environment and wildlife but also potentially dangerous to public health. There needs to be a concerted nationwide effort to discourage anti-social behaviour.”