A South London borough has been called grubby and filthy by a set of local councillors, who claim the authority is blaming residents for the rubbish dumped on the street.

Bexley borough’s Labour Group have described the borough as being “plagued” by fly tipping at a meeting last week.

The topic was discussed at a Bexley full council meeting on November 8.

A motion was put forward by Labour Councillor Chris Ball to tackle littering in Bexley, which the councillor said had become an endemic issue as the borough has become “grubby”.

Cllr Ball said at the meeting: “In every street, in every park, in every open space on verges and on the sides of roads, the place is filthy.

"There’s litter, there are weeds… It changes our sense of our place and our wellbeing and that is absolutely evident now in every single part of the borough. Fly tipping is a nightmare.”

The motion, originally written by Labour Councillor Zainab Asunramu, said that Bexley borough was “plagued” with fly tipping and litter and sought to bring in greater enforcement using CCTV to keep the borough clean.

The proposal also suggested that volunteer litter pickers in the borough should be commended, but not relied on to provide a “basic public service”.

Conservative Councillor Cameron Smith put forward an amendment to the motion on behalf of the Conservative Group at the meeting.

The proposal stated that the borough’s decline in recycling rates in recent years was due to bin collection strikes by members of the Unite workers union.

The amendment also called on the Mayor of London to use ULEZ cameras in the borough to monitor crime and fly tipping instead of their intended use for number plate recognition.

Cllr Smith said that it was inaccurate for the Labour Group to call fly tipping a “plague” in the borough, and that volunteering was a central aspect in tackling the actions of a few “reckless individuals”.

He also claimed the council issued over 3,700 fines for littering in 2022, with the amendment adding that £232,000 of funding was being spent to provide 526 new litter bins in the borough.

Labour Councillor Nicola Taylor said at the meeting: “We cannot say it’s the residents’ fault and they should clear it up because, as leaders of this town, we do have to take some responsibility and recognise that it is not all in their remit. We have to make sure that waste services are adequately funded to give all Bexley residents the clean borough they deserve.”

Bexley Council voted to carry the amended motion at the meeting.

Cllr Ball said before the vote that he would have been willing to support the Conservative Group proposal if the initiative to use ULEZ cameras to monitor crime had not been included.