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Croydon named nation’s biggest dump, with the most fly-tipping incidents seen annually

Croydon named nation’s biggest dump, with the most fly-tipping incidents seen annually The latest research by London lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves, has revealed that when it comes to the property market across England, Croydon is home to the most fly-tipping incidents with 35,470 cases reported on an annual basis – whilst Nottingham and Liverpool rank as the worst offenders outside of the capital.

Benham and Reeves analysed the latest Gov figures* on the annual number of fly-tipping incidents across every local authority in England.

The figures show that, across England, over 1.1m incidents of fly-tipping took place in 2023/24 (latest data release), marking a 6.2% increase on the previous year and the second consecutive annual increase recorded.

When it comes to the highest volume of fly-tipping incidents, London accounts for eight of the top 10, with the London Borough of Croydon home to the most fly-tipping incidents in the nation at 35,470 per year.

Camden is the second worst offender in this respect with 34,786 annual fly-tipping incidents, followed by Hackney (33,464), whilst other London boroughs to make the top 10 include Lewisham (27,599), Hounslow (27,241), Brent (27,023), Westminster (25,531) and Southwark (22,912).

Outside of the capital, Nottingham is home to the highest number of fly-tipping incidents with 30,511 cases reported annually – the fourth highest across England.

Liverpool also makes the top 10 at number 10, with 20,003 cases reported annually.

However, whilst London may be home to the highest volume of incidents, it’s Huntingdonshire in the East of England that has seen the sharpest increase, with a 167% jump in fly-tipping incidents versus the previous year.

Cannock Chase and Wyre Forest in the West Midlands have also seen considerable increases at 92% and 90% respectively, along with Hillingdon (+83%) and Fenland (+82%).

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented

“Fly-tipping has become an increasingly common problem and one that is a huge drain on council funds and resources that could be far better spent in other areas, simply because some people in society can’t be make the effort to dispose of their residential or commercial waste via the appropriate channels.

It’s also a real eye sore and whilst it may be largely focused in remote or rural areas in order to avoid being caught, it can still act as a considerable deterrent to homebuyers.

The good news is that we have seen the government act in recent years to give councils greater powers to combat the issue, increasing the size of fines issued.”

Table shows the total number of fly-tipping incidents reported by year and the annual change across each region of England
Location	Region	Est Fly-tipping incidents reported – 2023/24	Annual change %
East Midlands	East Midlands	95,909	14.6%
East of England	East of England	86,987	10.6%
London	London	444,519	5.0%
North East	North East	68,269	6.9%
North West	North West	133,578	1.2%
South East	South East	101,694	1.5%
South West	South West	51,175	2.4%
West Midlands Region	West Midlands	83,980	13.4%
Yorkshire and the Humber	Yorkshire and the Humber	85,568	9.5%
England (sum of regions)	Nation	1,151,679	6.2%

Table shows the total number of fly-tipping incidents reported by year and the annual change across each local authority of England
Location	Region	Est Fly-tipping incidents reported – 2023/24	Annual change %
Croydon	London	35,470	55.2%
Camden	London	34,786	10.6%
Hackney	London	33,464	21.8%
City of Nottingham	East Midlands	30,511	43.3%
Lewisham	London	27,599	13.5%
Hounslow	London	27,241	4.2%
Brent	London	27,023	-22.4%
City of Westminster	London	25,531	-16.9%
Southwark	London	22,912	14.8%
Liverpool	North West	20,003	-14.5%
Newham	London	19,629	12.2%
Bradford	Yorkshire and the Humber	18,456	19.8%
Birmingham	West Midlands	17,823	12.8%
Ealing	London	16,828	30.2%
West Northamptonshire	East Midlands	16,670	-0.2%
Haringey	London	16,508	-25.6%
Merton	London	16,116	-10.0%
Newcastle upon Tyne	North East	15,874	13.6%
Manchester	North West	13,778	0.9%
Greenwich	London	13,516	41.9%
Harrow	London	12,609	36.7%
Sandwell	West Midlands	12,407	4.7%
Leeds	Yorkshire and the Humber	12,280	5.2%
Hammersmith and Fulham	London	11,877	-12.0%
Sheffield	Yorkshire and the Humber	11,272	-1.0%
Southampton	South East	10,948	15.4%
Lambeth	London	10,787	81.3%
Luton	East of England	10,194	8.4%
City of Peterborough	East of England	10,128	1.9%
Hillingdon	London	10,099	83.1%
Sunderland	North East	9,552	-9.0%
Waltham Forest	London	9,431	3.0%
Barnet	London	8,796	-9.9%
City of Bristol	South West	8,556	-16.0%
Kirklees	Yorkshire and the Humber	8,317	15.8%
Enfield	London	7,598	38.0%
Leicester	East Midlands	7,342	4.6%
Kensington and Chelsea	London	7,153	-1.5%
Bolton	North West	7,114	20.9%
Redcar and Cleveland	North East	6,983	0.5%
Tower Hamlets	London	6,744	-57.5%
Redbridge	London	6,637	-1.1%
Salford	North West	6,498	12.1%
Basildon	East of England	6,155	49.4%
City of Kingston upon Hull	Yorkshire and the Humber	6,147	31.5%
Preston	North West	6,002	48.5%
Coventry	West Midlands	5,883	-14.0%
Telford and Wrekin	West Midlands	5,860	35.9%
Rotherham	Yorkshire and the Humber	5,821	13.5%
County Durham	North East	5,779	6.7%
City of Plymouth	South West	5,745	12.8%
Gateshead	North East	5,741	16.6%
Wakefield	Yorkshire and the Humber	5,511	4.6%
Boston	East Midlands	5,500	72.6%
Norwich	East of England	5,392	1.8%
Blackpool	North West	5,369	22.0%
Stoke-on-Trent	West Midlands	5,366	64.3%
Medway	South East	5,332	14.3%
Wandsworth	London	5,032	-17.4%
Oldham	North West	5,022	-11.5%
Rochdale	North West	4,994	-10.6%
Barnsley	Yorkshire and the Humber	4,980	13.1%
Oxford	South East	4,959	53.3%
City of Derby	East Midlands	4,833	-18.8%
Milton Keynes	South East	4,824	4.7%
Pendle	North West	4,646	19.6%
Bromley	London	4,619	27.4%
Walsall	West Midlands	4,588	12.3%
Richmond upon Thames	London	4,441	20.8%
Northumberland	North East	4,429	10.0%
Bexley	London	4,318	18.9%
Buckinghamshire	South East	4,272	29.7%
Somerset	South West	4,230	-11.8%
North Tyneside	North East	4,223	9.9%
Sutton	London	4,173	-15.6%
South Tyneside	North East	4,171	-12.0%
North Northamptonshire	East Midlands	4,126	48.2%
Cheshire East	North West	4,047	-1.5%
Blackburn with Darwen	North West	3,750	-10.0%
Darlington	North East	3,716	16.5%
Wirral	North West	3,657	0.6%
Burnley	North West	3,638	29.4%
Sefton	North West	3,630	-7.0%
Barking and Dagenham	London	3,624	-5.7%
Solihull	West Midlands	3,622	1.9%
Cumberland	North West	3,465	-2.3%
Swindon	South West	3,405	76.4%
Havering	London	3,361	3.4%
Reigate and Banstead	South East	3,283	-58.4%
Stockport	North West	3,232	15.0%
Canterbury	South East	3,105	12.9%
Cornwall	South West	3,101	11.9%
Epping Forest	East of England	3,093	9.1%
Huntingdonshire	East of England	3,078	167.2%
St Helens	North West	3,059	60.9%
Basingstoke and Deane	South East	3,038	20.3%
Welwyn Hatfield	East of England	3,037	-8.5%
Hartlepool	North East	3,005	50.6%
Kingston upon Thames	London	2,935	-21.1%
Warwick	West Midlands	2,930	14.3%
Lancaster	North West	2,928	-25.9%
Hyndburn	North West	2,925	11.0%
Tameside	North West	2,905	-34.2%
Thurrock	East of England	2,901	17.7%
Dudley	West Midlands	2,898	46.1%
North Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,861	-6.3%
Maidstone	South East	2,854	19.4%
Wigan	North West	2,851	24.0%
Bury	North West	2,832	-9.4%
Doncaster	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,797	6.3%
Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole	South West	2,792	-1.7%
Wiltshire	South West	2,789	6.0%
Wolverhampton	West Midlands	2,714	-7.4%
Lincoln	East Midlands	2,668	16.6%
Knowsley	North West	2,566	0.4%
Middlesbrough	North East	2,561	0.3%
Central Bedfordshire	East of England	2,552	1.7%
Cheshire West and Chester	North West	2,524	7.9%
Harlow	East of England	2,486	11.0%
Gravesham	South East	2,384	11.0%
Bath and North East Somerset	South West	2,348	11.8%
Redditch	West Midlands	2,340	50.5%
City of London	London	2,315	-22.8%
North East Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	2,268	8.1%
Stockton-on-Tees	North East	2,235	28.4%
Westmorland and Furness	North West	2,214	28.6%
Swale	South East	2,207	3.7%
Bassetlaw	East Midlands	2,194	5.8%
Cambridge	East of England	2,176	-0.5%
Thanet	South East	2,174	-14.2%
South Gloucestershire	South West	2,171	21.3%
Stevenage	East of England	2,151	-25.8%
Trafford	North West	2,096	3.3%
Dacorum	East of England	2,059	28.0%
South Holland	East Midlands	2,027	18.2%
Southend-on-Sea	East of England	2,021	29.6%
Colchester	East of England	1,962	-20.1%
North Somerset	South West	1,957	13.9%
Rugby	West Midlands	1,952	45.2%
York	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,942	5.7%
Bromsgrove	West Midlands	1,937	55.1%
Crawley	South East	1,906	31.5%
Windsor and Maidenhead	South East	1,902	52.3%
West Lancashire	North West	1,844	-9.7%
Mansfield	East Midlands	1,843	-18.2%
King’s Lynn and West Norfolk	East of England	1,838	9.7%
East Suffolk	East of England	1,827	14.5%
Bedford	East of England	1,764	-8.1%
Dorset	South West	1,719	3.6%
Brighton and Hove	South East	1,688	-16.9%
Nuneaton and Bedworth	West Midlands	1,670	-10.7%
Folkestone and Hythe	South East	1,644	-1.3%
Arun	South East	1,641	-19.4%
Newark and Sherwood	East Midlands	1,603	1.8%
Hastings	South East	1,541	-0.9%
North Hertfordshire	East of England	1,536	8.2%
Dartford	South East	1,517	-24.0%
Cheltenham	South West	1,502	16.3%
Wokingham	South East	1,497	-11.5%
Slough	South East	1,445	14.9%
Havant	South East	1,408	18.8%
East Lindsey	East Midlands	1,400	-3.4%
Spelthorne	South East	1,400	-14.7%
Calderdale	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,371	0.7%
Broxbourne	East of England	1,367	21.8%
Runnymede	South East	1,362	74.6%
Guildford	South East	1,354	11.7%
Hertsmere	East of England	1,348	22.0%
Islington	London	1,347	4.3%
South Staffordshire	West Midlands	1,346	20.5%
Horsham	South East	1,340	10.6%
Forest of Dean	South West	1,338	-14.7%
Gloucester	South West	1,336	-1.8%
Watford	East of England	1,308	12.0%
Reading	South East	1,304	-4.2%
Elmbridge	South East	1,297	7.0%
Brentwood	East of England	1,268	81.1%
Gedling	East Midlands	1,256	2.6%
Ashford	South East	1,249	6.1%
Hart	South East	1,247	-0.1%
Bolsover	East Midlands	1,232	-8.6%
Ipswich	East of England	1,220	18.0%
Warrington	North West	1,217	22.1%
East Hampshire	South East	1,214	-14.2%
Rossendale	North West	1,178	24.3%
East Staffordshire	West Midlands	1,171	24.4%
Shropshire	West Midlands	1,171	-5.7%
South Kesteven	East Midlands	1,166	-10.7%
Great Yarmouth	East of England	1,153	-1.5%
Stroud	South West	1,144	33.2%
Woking	South East	1,137	-6.8%
Castle Point	East of England	1,135	46.6%
West Oxfordshire	South East	1,135	-1.3%
Charnwood	East Midlands	1,130	30.0%
New Forest	South East	1,118	17.4%
West Lindsey	East Midlands	1,115	-26.4%
Fenland	East of England	1,104	81.6%
Cherwell	South East	1,101	16.5%
Ashfield	East Midlands	1,096	-3.4%
Portsmouth	South East	1,092	45.4%
North Warwickshire	West Midlands	1,077	18.1%
East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	1,059	-5.4%
Braintree	East of England	1,049	20.3%
South Cambridgeshire	East of England	1,029	15.6%
Torbay	South West	1,013	20.2%
Tamworth	West Midlands	999	-8.1%
Teignbridge	South West	985	5.7%
Cotswold	South West	972	-11.0%
Tandridge	South East	959	0.3%
Dover	South East	951	-3.5%
Tonbridge and Malling	South East	943	13.2%
Wyre Forest	West Midlands	940	90.3%
West Berkshire	South East	930	-7.8%
North Kesteven	East Midlands	919	-0.4%
Exeter	South West	917	-18.4%
Breckland	East of England	915	20.4%
Sevenoaks	South East	892	11.4%
Chichester	South East	891	5.6%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	West Midlands	880	13.5%
Test Valley	South East	880	-39.6%
Winchester	South East	876	-15.6%
South Oxfordshire	South East	873	14.4%
Wyre	North West	861	-15.8%
Rushcliffe	East Midlands	859	-7.4%
Eastleigh	South East	848	27.5%
Wychavon	West Midlands	835	-4.9%
Hinckley and Bosworth	East Midlands	820	9.2%
Chelmsford	East of England	810	17.9%
Waverley	South East	804	7.2%
Broadland	East of England	785	-11.5%
Chorley	North West	769	-11.8%
Tunbridge Wells	South East	750	4.0%
Rother	South East	734	-17.5%
South Norfolk	East of England	729	-4.5%
Herefordshire	West Midlands	726	-28.9%
Blaby	East Midlands	722	15.2%
Eastbourne	South East	716	9.5%
Broxtowe	East Midlands	700	30.6%
Surrey Heath	South East	696	18.4%
East Hertfordshire	East of England	682	4.1%
Wealden	South East	677	0.0%
St Albans	East of England	662	14.3%
North East Derbyshire	East Midlands	660	1.7%
Tewkesbury	South West	635	-3.1%
Ribble Valley	North West	633	15.1%
South Hams	South West	629	13.1%
Mole Valley	South East	625	16.2%
Rochford	East of England	602	14.7%
Adur	South East	601	-40.7%
Bracknell Forest	South East	596	10.0%
Mid Sussex	South East	572	76.0%
South Derbyshire	East Midlands	562	-4.7%
Stafford	West Midlands	556	14.9%
North Devon	South West	553	-13.6%
Tendring	East of England	540	1.3%
North West Leicestershire	East Midlands	539	-8.2%
Worthing	South East	507	-36.5%
Rushmoor	South East	490	13.4%
North Lincolnshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	486	-49.2%
Halton	North West	485	1.5%
Cannock Chase	West Midlands	483	91.7%
Chesterfield	East Midlands	460	-8.5%
Gosport	South East	452	-5.4%
Stratford-on-Avon	West Midlands	447	9.8%
Vale of White Horse	South East	445	-1.8%
Mid Devon	South West	445	-26.4%
South Ribble	North West	438	2.6%
Worcester	West Midlands	432	27.1%
East Cambridgeshire	East of England	428	-18.3%
Epsom and Ewell	South East	423	-10.4%
Fylde	North West	408	-0.5%
Three Rivers	East of England	407	-10.2%
Harborough	East Midlands	400	26.2%
Mid Suffolk	East of England	399	3.4%
Lewes	South East	397	15.4%
Babergh	East of England	388	4.3%
Staffordshire Moorlands	West Midlands	371	5.1%
Maldon	East of England	364	-20.4%
North Norfolk	East of England	353	-30.0%
West Devon	South West	346	5.8%
Lichfield	West Midlands	337	6.0%
Uttlesford	East of England	327	45.3%
East Devon	South West	327	-18.0%
High Peak	East Midlands	326	-16.2%
Melton	East Midlands	325	8.7%
Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands	317	8.9%
West Suffolk	East of England	265	-18.0%
Fareham	South East	247	2.5%
Erewash	East Midlands	239	-6.6%
Torridge	South West	220	14.0%
Malvern Hills	West Midlands	219	-6.4%
Amber Valley	East Midlands	216	21.3%
Rutland	East Midlands	121	-30.5%
Oadby and Wigston	East Midlands	12	-36.8%
*Data excludes the Isle of Scilly and the Isle of Wight
Fly-tipping returns for some local authorities may be missing, incomplete or found to contain errors during Defra’s quality assurance process. In these cases, some or all of the annual figures may be unavailable for those local authorities. However, in order to maintain trends over time for the aggregated totals, estimates may be made for these figures that will be included in the published totals, but not made available in the local authority breakdown. For this reason, the England totals may be higher than the sum of regional totals and the sum of individual local authorities.

*Data sourced from Gov UK – Waste and recycling statistics (2021/22 vs 2023/24 – latest available and released 26th February 2025).

About the Author

Established in 1958, Benham and Reeves is one of London’s oldest, independently owned property lettings and sales agents. With specialism in residential sales, corporate lettings and property management in prime areas of London, the company operates from 21 prominently located branches and 14 international offices.

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