Tonnes of rubbish are being left by Kent roadsides and tens of thousands of incidents of fly-tipping being recorded in the county each year, figures show.

New statistics from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) reveal the south east is among the worst offenders when it comes to waste being dumped illegally.

In Kent, there were 27,436 reports in 2021/22, with Medway the biggest hotspot.

The Towns recorded 4,569 fly-tipping incidents in the last year, with Maidstone in second place with 3,418.

Dartford was third with 3,082 incidences.

The fewest reports were in Sevenoaks, where 707 offences were recorded.

The penalty for small-scale fly-tipping is £400, rising to a maximum of £50,000 for more serious cases. Each local authority sets its own figure.

In December, an Ashford man was fined £1,300 after he paid two men with a van to take away his rubbish who then dumped it in Capel Road.

The fee was increased from £400 after he refused to pay the original fine.

In February, School Lane in Horton Kirby near Dartford was partially closed after a pile of bulk waste was found scattered across the road.

Kmfm addressed the fly-tipping issue in its breakfast podcast on March 2 when presenters discussed a blue sofa dumped by the Wainscot bypass in Strood.

This became a hot topic for listeners and the show was inundated with calls about the infamous landmark. One caller even wrote an 'ode to a chair'.

Meanwhile, drivers have captured photos and video of the amounts of litter blighting the main roads across Kent.

One concerned resident, Adrian Vines from Culverstone near Gravesend, wrote a letter to his MP, Adam Holloway (Con), hoping to get the litter issue on the Cyclopark roundabouts near the junction of the A227 and A2 sorted.

The 66-year-old said: "It has definitely been a problem for the last three to four years. Nobody has dealt with it – first it was just dirty but now it's awful.

"It's got out of hand and it seems everyone is passing on the buck.

"I lived near Manilla in the past near a place called Smokey Mountain which was a tip just outside of town. It's not quite there yet but it is making me think of it.

"I've lived all over the place but the south east is particularly bad for fly-tipping."

In response to Adrian's letter, Mr Holloway wrote back highlighting he had already made National Highways aware.
The letter read: "I have used your correspondence to make representations on your behalf to the executive director of operations at National Highways, the director of highways at Kent County Council and the operations service manager at Gravesham Borough Council.

"I had been informed the verge at the roundabout had been litter picked at the end of January and so I do not know if this means the litter is new."

MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Gordon Henderson (Con), says he is constantly asked about the litter issue along the A249.

He said: "I will continue to press National Highways for action, although we should remember that it is irresponsible motorists who throw litter from their vehicles and it is those people who should be criticised.

"What we have to do is educate people not to drop litter in the first place."

National Highways said it has weekly clean-up crews tackling sections of the A249 at a time.

It said: "Litter-picking duties were carried out in both directions between Wormdale Overbridge and Bobbing between January 17 and 25.

"We then tackled the slip roads at Grovehurst and Bobbing bringing the 2022/23 rubbish total to 8.5 tonnes so far, excluding fly-tipping.

"We recently cleared up approximately 1,500 books from the verges and have also cleared larger items of debris such as tyres, televisions, mattresses and fridges along with commercial plastic sheeting that gets tangled up in trees.

"We are also working with Swale Borough Council to address the amount of litter presently being deposited.

"We attended a meeting with them on February 7 and we have another meeting planned.

"We believe a large amount of rubbish originates from the unsecured loads on lorries to and from the local recycling plant close to the Grovehurst junction."

National Highways is responsible for motorways and some A roads while local authorities deal with fly-tipping in their areas.