Hundreds of fines totalling more than £21,000 have been dished out for fly-tipping and littering in Havering over the last year.

The crime costs Havering Council approximately £1m each year to clean up, it said, which is why it has issued 200 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for fly-tipping and 147 for littering around the borough since June 2020 as part of a crackdown.

This includes when dumped rubbish was found at the foot tunnel near Jutsums Lane and Nursery Walk; the alleged perpetrator was fined £400.

An investigation of a report in Angel Way - made via the council's app to report fly-tipping, Love Havering - resulted in an FPN of £400 being issued.

In East Hall Lane in Upminster, two separate £400 FPNs were issued for “cardboard waste” being dumped.

A fine of £400 was issued to a person accused of dumping “six bags of commercial waste” on a public road in Collier Row.

The local authority is working with independent environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy to tackle the fly-tipping issue.

Havering Council's cabinet member for public protection and safety, Cllr Viddy Persaud, said: “The actions of our enforcement teams show that here in Havering, we won’t tolerate the illegal dumping of waste.

“We are continuing to encourage residents to report it to us but also for them to dispose of their rubbish legally and responsibly.

“Fly-tipping is a serious crime which negatively affects our residents, businesses and the local environment.

“Each year we’re left with an unnecessary clean-up bill of around one million pounds.

“This is money which could be better spent on critical frontline services, where we can look to help improve the lives of our most vulnerable residents, especially as we look to recover from the fight against coronavirus.”

There is a reduced FPN rate of £200 if it is paid within 10 days.

This comes after Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) figures revealed Gooshays is Havering's worst neighbourhood for fly-tipping. However, those statistics showed North Street, Hornchurch, was the specific street with the most reports in the borough in an 18-month period.