FLYTIPPING is on the increase and cost Colchester Council more than £87,000 to clean up last year.

According to figures released by the Department for Food Environment and Rural Affairs, there were 1,502 incidents in the borough in 2015/16, up from 1,349 the year before.

Statistics reveal 585 of the cases affected highways and roads, while 218 impacted on footpaths or bridleways.

A total of 99 of the cases involved white kitchen goods and two contained dangerous chemical asbestos.

The clean-up bill totalled £87,026.

Colchester Council's cabinet member for safer communities Mike Lilley (Lab) said he had experienced flytipping regularly in his Old Heath and the Hythe ward.

He said: "There is no real way to stop them if some moron wants to come out in the middle of the night and dump their rubbish but we always urge residents to report it to us if they see something strange.

"The people who do this are costing the council money and ruining landscapes for everybody else."

Mr Lilley said he was concerned new Essex County Council regulations banning trade waste from being left at recycling centres across the county, including at the Shrub End centre, would lead to even more flytipping.

He said: "We worry people will refuse to pay the extra charges.

"If the numbers do increase again we will be writing to the county council to express concerns about the changes."