NEW government figures have highlighted the battle being waged in the borough against fly-tipping and they show Thurrock Council tops a national table for issuing multiple fixed penalty notices in relation to particular incidents of dumping.

It's also sixth in a table listing the number of fixed penalty notices handed out.

The latest figures are from a database covering 2021/22 and show a total of 1,953 incidents of flying tipping in the borough - which produced 5,340 enforcement actions.

Enforcement actions are actions carried out by local authorities in response to fly-tipping incidents. These actions could include investigations, warning letters, statutory notices, FPNs, duty of care inspections, stop and search, vehicles seized, formal cautions, prosecutions and injunctions.

Thurrock issued 4,341 fixed penalty notices in the period covered by the report.

In comparison, neighbouring Basildon Council recorded 3,682 enforcement actions including issuing 6,420 fixed penalty notices.