ANOTHER significant fly-tipping incident which partially blocked a rural road was dealt with by an emergency team from Thurrock Council.

In its wake, Thurrock's leading environment councillor says she 'has no doubt' that a prosecution will follow.

Butts Lane, which links Stanford-le-Hope and Linford has become a favourite dumping spot for fly-tippers, with a number of recent incidents.

The most recent was discovered at 7.45pm last Tuesday (24 September), when the road was partially blocked, causing issues for oncoming traffic.

Thurrock Council's Highways Emergency Team acted quickly, arriving at 9pm the same night to remove the waste from the road and ensure traffic could continue.

The remaining waste that was left on verges by the road was removed by a call-out crew at 10am on Thursday, 26 September.

A statement from the council says: "Council officers investigate all fly-tips and use any evidence found to identify those who are responsible.

"Anyone found fly-tipping may be issued with a £1,000 fixed penalty notice (FPN), and if prosecuted through a criminal court, upon conviction could face fines far greater than the £1000 FPN.

Following last week's incident, Cllr Victoria Holloway, cabinet member for Place and Environment said: "Fly-tipping is a selfish act and our residents should not have to put up with the mess that has been left by a minority of irresponsible people.

"I would like to thank all of the teams at Thurrock Council that worked quickly to ensure the blockage was removed and the waste was no longer causing an eye-sore for our residents.

"Our enforcement team are now investigating the perpetrators of this illegal fly-tip and I have no doubt we will be able to take action against those that have caused the mess.

"I encourage all residents to report any incidents of fly-tipping via the council website, any reports will be dealt with swiftly."

To report any instances of fly-tipping in Thurrock, visit: https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/fly-tipping/reporting-fly-tipping