A campaign to clean up Croydon has been launched after a study revealed that Croydon is the second easiest place to fly-tip in England.

Official statistics show that Croydon Council issued only 10 fixed penalty notices despite recording more than 22,000 instances of fly-tipping in 2023.

Sarah Jones, Labour MP for Croydon Central, has launched a campaign to clean up Croydon.

The campaign wants Fly Tip Clean-Up Squads to ensure that those who make the mess clean up the mess.

The campaign has also called on Croydon Council to set up Mega Skip Days.

Mega Skip Days aim to provide freely available skips on certain days of the year so residents can get rid of unwanted items for free.

The campaign also wants a Fly-tipper’s Wall of Shame - using roaming CCTV to capture and publicise images of fly-tipping with posters around hotspot areas.

The Fly-tipping Strategy part of the campaign is to develop a way for Croydon to tackle the problem across the borough, work in partnership with local people, and use existing powers more effectively.

Speaking in Parliament, Jones called for cross-party co-operation on how the scourge of fly-tipping can be eliminated. 

Sarah Jones, MP for Croydon Central, said: “Fly-tipping is dirty, dangerous, and totally unacceptable.

“It’s time to get serious about tackling it.

“People in Croydon are right to be frustrated by the prevalence of fly-tips on our streets, from Central Parade in New Addington to Gonvile Road in Thornton Heath. 

“I urge people in Croydon to get in touch with what more they think should be done, and I will commit to working with everyone across the council to see change happen.” 

A Croydon Council spokesperson said: "This council takes the issue of fly-tipping seriously and it is a key priority of the council to clean up our borough and fix the 'broken windows' by improving the look and feel of the borough.

"We are in the process of rolling out a series of 'blitz' clean-ups, helping to restore pride in the borough's district and town centres.

“The first in Norbury saw a significant 84 per cent reduction in fly-tipping in just two weeks and we will be shortly announcing the date of our next blitz, which will take place in Thornton Heath.

"Fly-tipping is a criminal offence that we take very seriously, and we prosecute whenever we have a strong case and sufficient evidence.

“We are currently reviewing our fly-tipping and enforcement strategy to improve our service.

"The council offers a bulky waste collection service and also has three Household Reuse and Recycling Centres where items can be brought for disposal free of charge.

“There has been an increase in users of our Love Clean Streets app, leading to more reporting, and we continue to encourage local people to report and appreciate those who do.

"This allows us to respond quickly to fly-tipping – we generally operate at a 98 per cent success rate to clear these reports within 24 hours.

“We expect this to rise, as we have just brought in an additional crew to quickly remove even more fly-tips."