OFFICIAL Government figures show that Hounslow is in the top five for the highest number of recorded fly-tips in London.

Fly-tipping continues to pose a major challenge for some councils and local communities across London, including those in Hounslow, with the borough being one of the capital's 'dirtiest' boroughs.

For the year 2019-20, Hounslow saw 22,480 fly-tip incidents and ranked fifth among the 32 London boroughs for the most incidents.

That figure is higher than all neighbouring boroughs, with Ealing for example coming in 10th place with 13,115 incidents.

London's worst affected borough was Camden with 34,465 reported fly-tips, while Kingston was the 'cleanest' with only 1,619 incidents.

Across London's 32 boroughs, just over 360,000 (360,080 to be exact) fly-tips were recorded.

This means that Hounslow suffered 6.2% of the Capital's fly-tips and was above average for the number of incidents, which was 11,253.

Cllr Guy Lambert, Cabinet Member for Highways, Recycling and Companies said: "Reporting of fly-tipping in Hounslow is particularly high because we actively encourage reporting and the majority of our residents won't stand for it.

"Fly-tipping on our streets and green spaces, blights neighbourhoods, endangers wildlife and impacts on people's pride of place, while putting added strain on Council services.

"It is estimated that fly-tipping costs our partner organisation, Hounslow Highways over £1 million a year, and we would prefer them to use this resource on other more positive activities.

"Fly-tipping is a serious problem and we want to send a clear message that we will not tolerate it and anyone caught will be punished.

"In March, we launched a dedicated enforcement team, Special Waste Service, to crack down on those who are guilty of fly-tipping and since then we have issued over 200 Fixed Penalty Notices.

"Our Hounslow Highways colleagues work incredibly hard to keep our streets clean, which is proven by our record of clearing 99.9% of fly-tips within 24 hours of being notified.

"The Council faces a constant battle to keep our streets clean and safe, and we need residents' support.

"The appeal has to be to the public - stop the tipping; it costs tax payers money, it mars the environment and it gets the place we're all proud of a bad reputation.

"Residents can support us by reporting fly-tipping incidents via the Fix My Street app or via our website and can dispose of bulky waste by booking a slot at a local reuse and recycling centre or by arranging a bulky waste collection.

"We are aware that we need to change behaviour at the heart of the problem for a long term solution rather than just continually mopping up the mess.

"That is why we will soon be launching a new behavioural change campaign to target fly-tippers.

"The campaign will raise awareness of what constitutes fly-tipping and highlight that it's not just large items that count as fly-tipping.

"Many incidents of fly-tipping are people illegally leaving bags full of domestic waste and potential recyclable materials next to a street litter bin which is primarily for small scale on-the-go litter such as drink cans and lunch wrappers.

"Some landlords have not made proper provision for waste and we encourage people who have this problem, or simply don't know how to do the right thing to contact [email protected] for advice and to help arrange appropriate waste storage.

"Fly-tipping will never be acceptable in Hounslow and we will continue to do all we can to eradicate this blight on our streets."