A Romford fly-tipper has been fined £400 after being tracked down by Havering Council’s enforcement team.

The rubbish was found dumped at the foot tunnel near Jutsums Lane and Nursery Walk, Romford, in the second week of January and traced back to a nearby address.

The resident at the address was served a fixed penalty notice totalling £400.

Havering is regularly in the top 10 of London boroughs carrying out enforcement action against fly-tippers, but the council says that fly-tipping still costs the council approximately £1m each year.

In December 2020, the Environmental Enforcement team received 19 reports relating to fly-tipping and littering in the Brooklands ward alone. Of these reports, 11 resulted in enforcement action being taken.

Later this month the council, working in partnership with Keep Britain Tidy, will be launching a campaign to tackle the issues of fly-tipping in that ward.

In 2019, the council launched its Cleaner Havering campaign aimed at making the borough cleaner and tidier, together with the help of residents.

This has included encouraging more reporting of fly-tipping and littering and increasing enforcement action around both.

Councillor Viddy Persaud, Havering’s cabinet member for public protection and safety, said: “We won’t tolerate the illegal dumping of waste and continue to encourage residents to report it to us and dispose of their rubbish legally and responsibly.

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

“Each year we’re left with an unnecessary clean-up bill of around £1m. This is money which could be better spent on critical frontline services and improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents, especially in these difficult time as we fight coronavirus.”

Romford Recorder: Fly-tipping in Carter Drive, Collier Row.Fly-tipping in Carter Drive, Collier Row. (Image: Emily Mathers)

Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, has also recently been raising issues about the dumping of rubbish.

After speaking to constituents regarding a fly-tipping-prone property which he says has been abandoned for many years, there is now a planning notice on the building dated December 2020, with the property due to be demolished to make way for new flats.