Medway Council's decision to start charging for bulky refuse is just one month old with opponents of the fee seeking evidence that it will lead to more flytipping.

Here's one example - a sofa dumped in a smart residential road in Rochester for more than a week.

Around the corner in The Close, an old mattress was suddenly appeared at about the same time.

Fears were raised that flytipping could increase across after Medway Council introduced a charge to householders for bulky waste collections from April 1.

Anyone wanting large items taken away from outside your home you now have to fork out £20.

Residents had previously been eligible for one free collection a year but had to pay £19 for any further pick ups within the same 12 month period.

But as part of its target to increase its budget for the next financial year the charge is imposed for a maximum of three items.

Cllr Andy Stamp, Medway Labour spokesman for regeneration, culture and transport, described it as a “back-of-a-fag” -packet policy.

He said while it might boost the council coffers, it does not take into account the cost of dealing with flytipping.

A Medway Council spokesman, said “The changes will bring Medway in line with other councils in Kent which have charged for the collections of bulky items for some time.

“While we would have liked to continue to offer one free collection, this change formed part of the budget setting process for 2016/17, in which vast savings had to be made.”