Fly-tipping incidents in the Towns have fallen despite Medway Council introducing charges for bulky waste collections.

During 2015-16, there were 3,559 incidents reported compared to 5,083 in 2014-15.

In 2012-13, there were 4,576.

In November, one business to be targeted was Mid-Kent Tools and Fixing on the Medway City Estate, Strood.

A mountain of rubbish was left outside units in Enterprise Close affecting Keel Court.

At the time, the firm’s manager, Steve Hills, said: “We all turned up and found a lorry load of rubbish had been dumped outside out businesses.

“We couldn’t get in, but the business next door is at a standstill.”

He had to hire a grab lorry to come and remove the huge pile, because it had been dumped on private land.

In 2015/16, Medway Council attended 2,442 reports of fly-tipping and removed 223.16 tonnes of fly-tipped waste.

A total of 69 people were prosecuted at magistrates in relation to fly-tipping, littering and waste-related cases.

Punishments included a prison sentence, suspended prison sentence, caution and community service.

The total amount of fines and costs offenders were ordered to pay totalled £37,820.

A Medway Council spokesman said: “We are pleased fly-tipping has decreased.

“We believe educating residents about how to dispose of waste and bulky goods is key to reducing the amount of dumped waste.

“We have an excellent street scene enforcement team who are always out and about looking for cases of fly-tipping, and they work to investigate and ensure the waste is removed as quickly as possible to keep Medway’s streets pleasant for those who live, work and visit the area.

“Medway Council has a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping and anyone found to be dumping waste will be prosecuted.”

Across Kent in 2015-16, nearly 20,000 incidents of fly-tipping were reported to councils.

Figures show they dealt with 19,547 incidents in 2015-16 – compared to 21,014 in the previous year, a fall of 1,467.

Nationally, councils reported 936,090 cases of fly-tipping in 2015-16, costing almost £50 million to clear up.

The figures exclude new powers councils were given last to hand out on-the-spot fines of up to £400.

Last April, Medway started charging £20 for bulky waste collection.