A FLY-TIPPING hotspot has become a "rat-infested hazard" according to disgusted residents who are demanding action is taking as a matter of urgency.

One furious resident contacted the Echo with a series of images showing a huge mound of waste dumped next to a set of garages in The Fold, Basildon, including broken furniture, pink rubbish sacks, mattresses and a TV.

According to the fed-up resident, the council has been informed “on several occasions but has not taken action,” with CCTV cameras set up at the site doing little to deter would be opportunists fly-tipping at the hotspot.

The resident contacted the Echo over the weekend to claim fly-tipping has become a "regular occurrence in a small area behind the houses" and it has become a "rat-infested hazard" 

“It’s a particularly big one that looks like a house, it’s the opportunistic back up of a van and has nothing to do with rubbish changes," Basildon Tory councillor Jeff Henry said.

“The rubbish change is seen as a justification, sofas are burnt and dumped but they would never throw those away in bins.

“There are opportunists who find areas people do not notice and it is a very small percentage of Basildon residents who do this, it could be contractors because its not trackable to them."

Mr Henry added that cameras may make no physical injunction in a fly-tipping incident, but they are essential “tools for collecting evidence and doling out fines.”

He added: "In terms of enforcement. Our enforcement team is sharp, they will go out and get in people’s faces and challenge on the doorstep and they do this in a fair way.

“If people are taking advantage, this costs every taxpayer."

Basildon council has been celebrated for its tough stance on fly tipping before, with figures from 2021-2022 showing that the council dealt out 6,240 fixed penalty notices to fly-tippers, which would have pulled in almost £2.5 million if offenders paid up.

Mr Henry said: “When it comes to fly tipping, we have a good track record of prosecution and we will continue that, but we are trying to do legislative changes to how things can be dealt with and we are doing a lot of programmes.

“If somewhere looks nice, you are less likely to wreck it but not everyone has the same values. We all have a social contract here.

A Basildon Council spokesperson said “Basildon Council takes fly-tipping very seriously and we continue to focus on keeping the borough clean for our residents. In 2021/22 Basildon ranked third in national league table for fly-tipping enforcement, issuing 6,420 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs).

"We investigate every report of fly-tipping we receive and take the necessary enforcement action to keep the area residents live in, a place to be proud of. This case will be investigated, and the necessary enforcement action taken.”