FLYTIPPING on land in Purfleet is set to cost Thurrock taxpayers thousands to clear up.

Hundreds of tonnes of waste has been dumped on council owned land, known as Cory Wharf.

Thurrock Council has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice and recoup the costs of the clean-up, which won’t be carried out until it has been established whether any of the waste is toxic or dangerous.

A spokesman for the council said: “Thurrock Council is aware of the situation on land it owns in Purfleet and is working with partners in the police and the Environment Agency to tackle this issue, bring the perpetrators to book and recouping the clean-up costs – estimated to be in the thousands.”

Jackie Doyle-Price, the Thurrock MP, said the site had been occupied by travellers until very recently.

She is angry that action wasn’t taken sooner to prevent the build-up of waste.

She said: “It simply isn’t acceptable that local residents are left to foot the bill for a clean-up because the law has not been applied.”