Bexley Council have collected more than £10,000 from fly-tipping fines in the first year of a crackdown on illegal waste dumping, figures show.

Councils were given the power to issue on the spot fines costing between £150 to £400 for fly tipping last year.

Bexley Council handed out 84 on-the-spot fines between May 9 last year to May 8 this year, the eighth most issued by the local authorities questioned.

The council raked in £12,500 in fixed penalty notices issued for fly-tipping.

Across England, the number of fly-tipping incidents have risen for three years in a row, government figures show, with councils reporting 936,090 cases in 2015/2016, up 4 per cent on the previous year.

In a report that went to Bexley Councillors this week, street cleanliness is set out as a priority for the council.

The report says: "The council continues to take a rigorous approach to litter and as a result the number of penalty notices issued and collection rates have been higher, resulting in income of £0.05m above planned levels."

The council said increased levels of CCTV is helping to address fly-tipping problems.

Bexley Council came under fire earlier this year after a Panorama documentary showed litter police using scare tactics to earn money on a bonus like scheme.

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News Shopper has previously reported that 94 per cent of fines handed out by Kingdom Environment officers were for cigarette litter.

Speaking at the time, Councillor Peter Craske said: “We have a zero tolerance policy on litter and fly-tipping. You can’t really have a zero tolerance policy if you exempt lots of things. Then you have an ‘everything goes’ policy.”

Clearing up fly-tipped rubbish cost councils almost £50 million in 2015/2016, while enforcement action cost nearly £17 million.

Julian Bell, chairman of London Councils' Transport and Environment Committee said: "Local authorities have a responsibility to keep public spaces clean and safe.

"London boroughs have rightly used our new powers to lead a crackdown on fly-tippers.

"We have sent a clear message to would-be offenders that fly-tipping will not be tolerated and that councils will take the initiative to protect public spaces."