Residents film truck brazenly fly tipping in London neighbourhood

A tipper lorry truck illegally dumped piles of rubbish on Stephenson Street in Ealing this morning, as shocked residents filmed.

The London street, lined with Victorian terraced homes and a small wooded area, has been used for films, adverts and music videos, including Pulp’s Common People and Madness’ Our House.

The truck dumped household waste, glass, wood and rubble early this morning, before the culprit sped off.

The incident occurred as figures from the Government showed the number of fly-tipping incidents councils are having to deal with across England climbed by 9% in 2024, to 1.26 million cases.

But residents say they are ‘overwhelmed’ by the increasing problem of fly-tipping.

James Trew said he heard a noise outside his home and went outside thinking it was the collection of a neighbour’s skip, only to find a truck tipping rubbish all over the road.

‘It’s an ongoing problem in Stephenson Street and this area, we are overwhelmed with people dumping rubbish on us,’ he said.

The issue isn’t improving, either, with James saying flytippers are getting more ‘brazen’.

One neighbour confronted a fly-tipper about six months ago on camera, urging them not to dump rubbish on the road, but they had said they would and carried on regardless.

‘They feel safe, the laws are so weak around it,’ he said.

Another local, Jamie Sutcliffe, who is the filming officer for the area, representing the residents’ association, said Ealing Council had cleaned up the fly-tipping on Wednesday after he had warned them the rubbish, which included broken glass and rubble blocking the road, was hazardous.

It had taken numerous council waste vans and four hours to clear the debris, which appeared to have come from the clear-out of a pub elsewhere in London, with addressed mail found among the dumped rubbish, he said.

‘People just think because it is a quiet residential area, people can just dump here,’ he said.

‘It’s an area you will have seen on movies and adverts and TV shows, it’s such a lovely vibrant community.’

Jamie said he is ‘convinced’ the incident, which involved a lorry with no number plates, would go no further, but said something needed to be done about the problem.

Ealing Council has been contacted for comment.

A council spokesperson said: ‘We take all fly‑tipping incidents very seriously and we’re grateful to residents who report them and share evidence when it is safe to do so. If anyone witnesses fly‑tipping, we ask that they report it to us and let us know if they have any footage. Our investigation team will use this evidence to help identify those responsible.

‘Our crews aim to clear reported fly‑tips within 48 hours, and the waste on Stephenson Street was removed on the same day it was reported. Officers are now examining the dumped material for further evidence.

‘We continue to tackle fly‑tipping through increased investigation and enforcement, additional CCTV, community engagement, and our educational campaign ‘This is our home, not a tip’.

‘Fly‑tipping remains a priority for us, and we will continue using every tool available to track down offenders and keep our streets clean.’

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