ESSEX County Council has launched an investigation after a worker dumped rubbish and huge mounds of grass cuttings on a site earmarked for a nature reserve.

Plans were in the pipeline to create a sanctuary for rare insects and butterflies on almost five acres of land between Ormsby Road and Coker Road, on Canvey, in a joint project between the county council, Natural England and the Canvey Wildlife Group.

Now contractors working for the county council trimming verges along Roscommon Way have dumped the grass cuttings, which are clearly strewn with litter, including drink cans and food wrappers.

It had been hoped the Orchard Nature Reserve would be open to the public in the next four years.

Councillor Dave Blackwell, chairman of the Canvey Wildlife Group, said: “This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. It was going to be a lovely little nature reserve, but they have just dumped this mountain of rubbish and cuttings there. There are cans, fast food wrappers and rubbish all over the site now.

“It’s going to take for ever to remove all of this from the land. It’s as if they have forgotten their own proposals.”

The site is being created to make up for the loss of habitat in nearby CanveyWick as a result of the plans to extend Roscommon Way to join up with Haven Road.

Jane King, councillor for Canvey West ward, said: “It is absolutely disgusting with all that rotting food, paper and rubbish cans left there.

"Clearly the county council has no idea how to manage a wildlife site.”

As part of the scheme, brambles would be chopped back and a wild flower meadow created to encourage rare insects and butterflies, such as the Shrill Carder bee and Canvey Island beetle, to thrive.

Essex County Council claims it was instructed to place the cuttings there by Natural England.

An Essex Highways spokesman said: “This site has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest and, as a Highways Authority, Essex County Council has an instruction from Natural England to place cuttings that have been taken from nearby verges on designated areas of this site for environmental reasons.

“Following these recent photos, Essex Highways will be dispatching an officer to investigate this site urgently to address this situation.”