BASILDON Council has announced it has successfully prosecuted a number of residents for littering in July.

After fixed penalty notices for the initial offences had been ignored or disputed, the council has been successful in gaining 14 prosecutions so far this month.

The offences came under section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, where a person is guilty of an offence if they throw down, drop or otherwise deposit litter in any place to which this section applies and leaves it.

These recent prosecutions are in addition to council teams having fined almost 300 individuals for fly-tipping since February 2020.

Council; leader and chairman of the council's enforcement and public order committee Cllr Andrew Baggott said: "We realise that the vast majority of residents do the right thing with their waste. But fly-tippers and those who drop litter need to be held to account to deter others from this kind of behaviour.

"The message is clear - don't drop litter and dispose of your waste in the correct way or you will be fined. Thank you to our enforcement and legal teams for their great success in catching and holding these people to account."