THE hunt is on for flytippers who have blighted a Laindon estate, leaving a big pile of rubbish next to homes.

Angry residents say the situation was made worse because it took council staff more than five days to shift the rubbish, which included dirty nappies, rotten food, old clothes and other household waste.

It was spotted in an alleyway last Friday by resident John James, 73, who immediately phoned Basildon Council to ask for it to be cleared.

Mr James, who has lived in Somercotes since 1974 in a house which overlooks the alleyway, said: “It took the council almost a week to come out and pick it up. That’s not good enough.

“Not only was it unsightly, it smelled disgusting. The sacks had split and all the rubbish went over the path.

“This part of the estate is becoming a magnet for dumping rubbish and nobody seems bothered about stopping it.

“Because I live next to the alleyway, I see this sort of thing quite regularly.

“I’m fed up with it. We need the council to come out and crack down on it.”

Council workers finally picked up the sacks yesterday afternoon – shortly after the Echo contacted the council to ask what was being done.

Mr James is angry because he thinks Somercotes is being neglected as it is one of the borough’s more rundown areas.

He said: “If this had happened in Billericay or some of the nicer roads in the borough, dustmen would have been sent out like a shot.

“It certainly wouldn’t have been left for residents to have to put up with.”

Malcolm Buckley, Tory councillor responsible for the environment, said: “I have a lot of sympathy for residents of Somercotes who are having to put up with this and I assure them we take this very seriously.

“We are going through the rubbish and we believe we have found evidence from which we can identify the culprit.

“We will be taking action and have the power to issue the offender with a fine or take them to court.”

He added: “I would urge people to get in touch with the council if they know the identity of people who are flytipping.

“Residents don’t have to be worried about repercussions, they can report it anonymously if they prefer.”