THURROCK Council says it has continued its tough stance on "disgusting and selfish" fly-tippers by handing out almost 200 fines for fly-tipping.

The borough's environment report for 2022/23 shows 2,525 investigations were launched and 198 fixed penalty notices were given to fly-tippers.

The report says the number of fines issued is far ahead of nearby unitary Southend Council which has not dished out any fly-tipping fines since 2020, and is taking an "educational approach" by hitting alleged offenders with warnings and "educational letters".

Andrew Jefferies, Leader of Thurrock Council and councillor responsible for the environment, said: "Fly-tipping is a disgusting and selfish act, and it is not something we tolerate.

"Our officers thoroughly investigate all fly-tips and where evidence is found we will take action to ensure that those responsible face the consequences of their actions. That includes issuing FPNs to fly-tippers, tackling rogue waste services and fining people whose waste has been dumped, whether they fly-tipped it directly or not."

Cllr Jefferies added: "We not only issue fixed penalty notices but also regularly seize vehicles that we know have been used to carry out fly-tipping.

"I make no apology in taking this tough stance and we will continue to work hard to prevent and prosecute fly-tippers."

Thurrock teams also continued to carry out large scale clearances of graffiti, working closely with the enforcement team to address this ongoing issue.

Finding the culprits of fly-tipping can be time-consuming and costly for councils who have to sift through rubbish for evidence but the report said: "Clearances arise because of service requests coming into the teams and through proactive site visits identifying graffiti.

"In addition, the team works with 11 enforcement Officers to remove fly tips once they have been inspected for evidence."

Thurrock's cleaner, greener and safer overview and scrutiny committee will consider the report on Tuesday.