Residents and business owners sick of fly-tipping and rubbish piling up near their buildings have joined forces to clear up the mess themselves.

An industrial bin was removed six weeks ago at the site behind shops in Upper Brentwood Road, Gidea Park, and since then there has been a spate of fly-tipping and rubbish piled up.

Havering council said the land-owner was operating a business at the location and had a commercial bin installed, which he allowed residents to use, but this was removed when the business closed.

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Paul Roberts, 29, of Upper Brentwood Road, said the area was a prime location for fly-tipping and people had been dumping beds, mattresses and window frames.

Mr Roberts said: “Because it is not on the public road it is not being cleared up. The bin bags have been ripped open by vermin I imagine.

“It is the view I have from my flat. I have taken the time to clear the area, but now it looks disgusting again. It is our home – I wouldn’t do that outside someone else’s home.”

He added that he and a neighbour took matters into their own hands to clear the area.

“There is only so long you can wait before you get sick of it, and I don’t want vermin outside my house so I had to do it myself.”

“I have been out there with a saw cutting up the wood to take it to the dump. But the problem is as soon as I cleared it was full of rubbish again.”

Cllr Barry Tebbutt, cabinet member for environment, said: “If we suspect people are fly-tipping then we will investigate and where there is sufficient evidence we will prosecute them.

“If fly-tipping or waste dumped on private land becomes an issue, we have powers to serve occupiers and landowners with notices to clear the mess up.”

The council said that the landowner has since paid to have the bulky items removed and added: “We collect properly bagged household waste on a weekly basis, provided it is left in the correct place on the correct day.

“On the rare occasions that waste is not collected, residents can call our contact centre on 01708 432563 and a collection will be arranged. We will arrange to collect bulky items for a small charge.”