FLY-tipping that is plaguing a Basildon estate has left it "looking like a living room" with dumped sofas, chest of drawers and huge piles of household items piled on the streets. 

Residents living on the Chalvedon estate say “upsetting” fly-tipping incidents make them feel their neighbours “lack pride” in where they live and say the issue has “been going on for years”.

A senior councillor has vowed to tackle the perpetrators and fears the estate is “one of the worst-affected” by fly-tipping in the borough. 

Edward Smith, 80 said: “We see so much furniture dumped around here, it’s like a living room. We get settees and bedroom furniture. It annoys me.

“There’s no need for it.”

Echo: Edward Smith says furniture strewn throughout the estate 'makes it look like a living room'.Edward Smith says furniture strewn throughout the estate 'makes it look like a living room'. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Mr Smith moved from Longacre to Chalvedon in 2009.

He added: “I love living here. I’m proud of my home, but we get a lot of rubbish dumped near us.

“It does upset me sometimes, but there’s nothing I can really do about it.”

Echo: Abandoned - baths, TVs and carpets can be seen strewn across the pavement.Abandoned - baths, TVs and carpets can be seen strewn across the pavement. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Monica Mayers, 44, has lived in Basildon for more than 30 years.

She said: “You see it across the whole estate. I think since the collection system changed, people are taking advantage. It’s got worse.

“I feel as though the area is becoming forgotten. People don’t have the same pride towards where they live like they used to.”

Echo: Sofa, no good - dumped couches.Sofa, no good - dumped couches. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Ms Mayers says installing hidden cameras to catch flytippers raises questions.

She added: “I question the reasoning for hidden cameras. Realistically, crime is quite high on certain estates but there are no cameras there. You’ve got to prioritise.

“Hidden cameras could help with tackling crime, but I’m a bit sceptical about just using it to catch flytippers.

“How will they hide them in trees, especially in the winter? And how will they install them without people seeing?”

Echo: Broken - damaged furniture has been left on the roadside.Broken - damaged furniture has been left on the roadside. (Image: Ben Shahrabi)

Kevin Blake, Basildon councillor responsible for the environment, said: “That area has been like that since the year dot. I know exactly where the worst affected areas are. It’s got nothing to do with our new policy and it hasn’t got any worse.

“We’re doing everything we can to tackle who we suspect the worst perpetrators are.

“This could be one of the places we target next with our cameras.”

When asked how hidden cameras could be installed without being seen by those fly-tipping, Mr Blake said: “Most people are not fly-tipping outside their own home, so they’re not likely to see the cameras going up.”