The rubbish cannot be cleaned up by Thurrock Council until the Environment Agency assess the dump for toxic waste

The fly-tipping site could leave taxpayers with a bill of up to £1million to clean up due to the amount of rubbish

Site had been occupied by travellers until last month when they were moved on by council's traveller unit

Rubbish includes old sofas, discarded clothes, office chairs, kitchen cupboards and even dumped fridges

The discarded rubbish appeared 'overnight' on council-owned land near to Purfleet Railway Station in Essex


A mile-long rubbish heap which 'appeared overnight' on a site travellers left just last month could leave taxpayers with a bill of £1million to clean up.

Discarded old sofas, wooden pallets and industrial waste have all been dumped on a stretch of council-owned land opposite Purfleet Railway Station in Thurrock, Essex.

The site has been occupied by travellers on three separate occasions since July, with the latest camp being moved on by the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit in October.

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The mile-long fly tipping site on council-owned land which stretches towards the Dartford Crossing in Purfleet, Essex

The stretch of land near to the railway line in Purfleet where the old rubbish 'appeared overnight after being dumped

The site had been occupied by travellers on three separate occasions with the latest encampment being moved on from the area last month

The dump takes 20 minutes to walk from end to end, and stretches along the railway line towards the Dartford Crossing

Thurrock Council, who believe that the site was broken into by fly-tippers, say they are unable to clean up the rubbish until it is assessed by the Environment Agency.

The agency has been called in amid fears it could contain toxic waste, including deadly asbestos among the dumped clothes, kitchen cupboards, office chairs and fridges.

The dump, which takes 20 minutes to walk from end to end, is next to the railway line opposite Purfleet station on a public footpath close to an empty industrial estate.

Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price says she believes the fly-tipping has been caused by illegal travellers and has slammed the delays in the clean up process.

The Conservative MP tweeted: 'See what travellers left behind at Cory's Wharf - bit more than household waste.

'Council taxpayers will be footing the bill to clean this up.

'All agencies failing to take prompt action.'

Thurrock Council claim the site was securely locked and was broken into by fly-tippers who dumped the rubbish

It is expected that the bill to clean-up all the rubbish could be as much as £1millio, with a local councillor describing it as 'fly-tipping on an industrial scale'

The Essex Countywide Traveller Unit confirmed there had been three separate encampments on the site with the latest being moved on last month

Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price says she believes the fly-tipping has been caused by illegal travellers and has slammed the delays in the clean up process

It is estimated that the bill to clean up the rubbish dump could be up to £1million with illegal travellers being blamed for the mess

Among the rubbish that has been discarded are old sofas, wooden pallets and industrial waste on the site opposite Purfleet Railway Station

Clothes can also been seen strewn across the mile-long rubbish heap. The Environment Agency are now assessing the site for toxic waste

Meanwhile Oliver Gerrish, a local Labour councillor, described the fly-tipping as ‘dumping on an industrial scale’.

He added: 'It’s certainly something I would like to see the council deal with, but it’s horrendous we’re in this situation in the first place.

'It’s absolutely disgraceful that people would dump that much.

'This mess sends out an important message to landowners to keep their land secure.'

A London commuter, who uses Purfleet railway station, agreed saying: 'It’s a real eye sore.

An armchair sits on top of a pile of rubbish at the site, which stretches for a mile-long on land opposite Purfleet railway station

Local Conservative MP Jackie Doyle-Price has called on Thurrock Council and other agencies to take prompt action in cleaning up the waste

Bags of rubbish are left dumped alongside household waste and other items such as wooden pallets and furniture

'The rubbish just seemed to appear overnight.

'I’ve been told it all started with travellers dumping on the site.

'I’ve never seen fly-tipping on such a huge scale and done so quickly.

'It stretches as far as the eye can see - I can’t believe the council are just letting it happen.'

Thurrock Council say that the site was securely locked and was broken into by fly-tippers who are being hunted by Essex Police

An aerial view of the site in Purfleet showing the exactly where the rubbish was dumped alongside the railway line

An aerial map showing exactly where the rubbish was dumped close to the railway line and an empty industrial estate in Purfleet

Thurrock Council, who own the land, claim the site was securely locked and was broken into by fly-tippers who are currently being hunted by Essex Police.

They added action was also taken by the Essex County Travellers Unit on behalf of the council which also liaised with other partners.

A spokesman for the local authority said: 'We are amazed and appalled at how quickly this appeared and want to make clear we and the Environment Agency will examine the waste carefully.

'If we find evidence of where it came from we will be taking legal action to recover the costs of removal - whatever that may be.'

An Essex Countywide Traveller Unit spokesman also added: 'Thurrock Council is a member of the Essex Countywide Traveller Unit (ECTU) which provides a variety of services relating to the traveller community, including the management of all unauthorised encampments on Thurrock Council-owned land.