A new Camden fly-tipping enforcement team will be hitting the streets within the next few weeks.

Comprised of six officers, it will be issuing fines against those caught fly-tipping and littering, with a particular focus on known hotspots.

The officers will be provided by the Kingdom Services Group, as part of a shared contract with Ealing, Harrow, Hounslow and Barnet.

Their initial focus for Camden will be West Hampstead and Kilburn.

Camden Council currently issues fines of £400 for fly-tipping offences, reduced to £200 if paid within ten days. However, unpaid fines, or persistent offences, can result in prosecution and an unlimited fine.

The council is also able to issue on-the-spot fines of £100 for littering.

In 2021, the council claims to have cleared 99% of fly-tips within an agreed timeframe, out of a total of 16,466 incidents reported via the Love Clean Streets app.

Cllr Adam Harrison, cabinet member for a sustainable Camden, said: “Fly-tipping is an issue that our residents care deeply about. It has a huge impact on our streets and, ultimately, Camden taxpayers end up footing the bill to clean up after other people’s irresponsibility.

“We remain determined to take action against those responsible. With the new resources we are putting in place, we’ll clear litter and fly-tips from our streets more quickly, but we will also collect more evidence to catch offenders.

“We already doubled the fine for fly-tipping to £400. Now we need to go further.

“We also offer free collections for large electrical items. There is no need to dump these on the street – residents should contact Clearabee via the website to arrange their free large electrical item collection.”

Cllr Richard Olszewski, cabinet member for finance and transformation, said: “We know the problems caused by people leaving waste and rubbish out incorrectly, including fly-tipping.

“This is why I am pleased to have been able to allocate funding towards extra vehicular support to ensure our streets are as clean and tidy as possible."

The council said Veolia, the resource management company to which it outsources waste collection, is going to be sending vehicles to known fly-tipping hotspots to help clear dumped waste more quickly.

They will be accompanied by the Camden Council’s enforcement team, who will be collecting evidence to try and identify repeat offenders.