Fly-tipping called the 'scourge of the countryside' by farmers' union

Fly-tipping at a historic churchyard in Eastwell Credit: John Hardie

Councils spend millions of pounds dealing with illegal fly-tipping - but an investigation by ITV News has revealed the problem could be much worse than the statistics suggest.

Official figures for last year show how much councils spent on dealing with the problem:

  • KENT: £1,116,159

  • EAST SUSSEX: £356,660

  • THURROCK: £149,445

But when fly-tipping happens on private land, councils are not obliged to clear it up. This means the responsiblity - and the bill - is falling on private individuals.

Abigail Bracken reports.

And Thanet Council says that it is cracking down on flytippers. Cllr Suzanne Brimm is Cabinet Member for Operational Services: