Published: Monday, 25th March 2019

After receiving a number of complaints about a fly-tipping hotspot on Sewell Road in Abbey Wood, we’ve caught fly-tippers in the act and hit them with vehicle seizures and fines.

Fly-tipped rubbish littering the road.

Illegally dumped rubbish in the borough.

With the help of mobile technology, we have gathered evidence against eight vehicles. 

In one particular case, a car was used to dump a mattress on Sewell Road which would have cost just £10 to dispose of, but instead the registered keeper has paid £640 in costs after her vehicle was seized in Bexley.

Another vehicle, a white Ford Transit van, was also caught fly-tipping on Sewell Road and has been seized after our joint operation with Plumstead Police as part of Operation Stop It! The owner has 15 days to make a claim before the vehicle is sold or disposed of.  

In the past 12 months, our different services have pooled their resources to ensure we're taking a tough approach against these offences. We have also been supported by the Metropolitan Police under Operation Stop It!, to clamp down on fly-tipping across the borough. For the year 2018/19, the borough has seen a 47 per cent reduction in the number of reported fly-tips in comparison to 2017/18.

Cllr Jackie Smith, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Integrated Enforcement said: “We want to ensure our borough is kept clean and tidy and everyone has a part to play in this. There is absolutely no excuse for dumping rubbish illegally.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to dealing with environmental crime like fly-tipping, and there will be consequences for anyone who is caught committing a crime against the environment in our borough.”

To report an environmental crime, please visit https://fix.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/