It was designed to speed up reports of dumped rubbish and encourage residents to love their neighbourhood - now the Love Medway app has been dumped itself.

Medway Council has announced the smartphone app, introduced in 2011 to help residents and council staff report litter and flytipping, has been scrapped - due to lack of use.

Launched at a cost of £7,000 it was thought to have reduced the cost of processing litter reports by £33,000 in just its first year.

But the honeymoon period was soon over as the council came under criticism for failing to inspire public interest in it. Five months into the scheme it was revealed 3,500 reports made using the app had been from council staff, while only 200 had come from the general public.

At the time cabinet member for community safety Cllr Mike O’Brien responded saying the app had always been for use by council staff as well as members of the public, and added: “the APP more than pays for itself by reducing the amount of paperwork and staff duplication that can be involved when handling these kind of reports.”

But last month the system was unceremoniously dismantled due to declining usage, and reports must now be made online or by calling the council.

A Medway Council spokesperson said: “The use of the Love Medway app has declined over the last few years, with a 30 per cent drop in reports. Issues can be reported at www.medway.gov.uk or by calling 01634 333333.”