Rubble which was illegally dumped next to a main road has cost a council more than £435,000 to clear.

Medway Council removed 1,345 tonnes of commercial waste – equivalent to the weight of seven blue whales – which had been dumped off the A289 Hasted Road, near Wainscott.

The site, off the approach to the Four Elms Hill roundabout, has now been blocked off and the authority is investigating.

An external contractor with specialist equipment was hired to collect and dispose of the rubblish.

The job took 10 days and the total cost was £435,372.57 excluding VAT.

Ian Gilmore, the council's head of regulatory and environmental services, said: “We have been left with no choice but to spend a considerable amount of money to clear more than 1,300 tonnes of illegally dumped waste from this site alone.

"This money could have been used by our services which provide support to residents.

“Fly-tipping is totally unacceptable and we investigate all incidents.

"We are determined to catch the offenders in this particular case and would urge anyone with information to contact our Environmental Enforcement team on 01634 333333.”