Croydon is the worst in the UK for fly-tipping incidents, according to a new study.

TOG24 has used FOI (Freedom of Information) requests to get data from each UK council to see which has the worst incidents of fly-tipping.

The requests revealed that Croydon saw more fly-tipping than any other place in the UK in the year 2023-24, having dealt with 38,163 incidents.

This is more than 10 times the national average of 3,249.

Councils across the UK spend an average of £118,000 on fly-tipping clearances.

Croydon Council spent more than nine times than that, spending a total of £1,099,594 on clearing fly-tipped rubbish.

Camden Council was the second worst area, with 31,457 reported incidents.

Hounslow Council followed with 31,361,

It’s also significantly more than the next two worst affected areas, Camden which saw 31,457 incidents and Hounslow with 31,361.

Nottingham City Council and Haringey Council came fourth and fifth, with 22,284 and 22,148 incidents reported respectively.

Merton Council in south London followed with 19,846 reported incidents and Peterborough City Council came seventh with 16,132.

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea was revealed to be the eighth worst place in the UK with fly-tipping incidents at 13,995, followed by Enfield Council in north London and Southampton City Council with 12,604, and 12,145 respectively.

In the UK, fly-tipping is a criminal offence that can lead to severe environmental damages and poses risk to public health and safety.

People caught fly-tipping can face fines up to £50,000 or up to five years in prison.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council previously said in July 2024: “Fly-tipping is a London-wide issue and in Croydon, we are working hard to tackle the problem.

“We are in the process of reviewing our enforcement policy in line with current legislation to enable us to take more action against the perpetrators.

“If we find evidence of the people responsible when we clear away dumped waste, we will prosecute them and seek the highest penalties against offenders.

“If you see any dumped waste in the borough, please report it to us on the Love Clean Streets app.”