More than 1.5 tonnes of rubbish cleared from A12

More than 4,000 instances of fly-tipping have been dealt with in Colchester over the past year

A council has collected more than 1.5 tonnes of waste along a major road in just three nights.

Colchester City Council used overnight road closures on the A12 to collect fly-tipped rubbish and litter.

Tyres, bottles, paper, cardboard and signs were among the waste, with the collective weight of 1.65 tonnes the same as a large family car.

Martin Goss, the council's Liberal Democrat portfolio holder for waste, neighbourhoods and leisure, said: "Fly-tipping has an impact on all of us and is a deep source of frustration. Not only is it a blight on our local environment, it costs taxpayers thousands in clear-up costs."

The three-night operation, which started on 27 October, saw workers clear lay-bys before tackling a four-mile stretch of the road between junctions 26 and 28.

Over the past year, the council has dealt with 4,332 incidents in Colchester.

Goss said: "Our teams work hard to tackle fly-tipping and littering, and they do a fantastic job, but we need our community's help to stop it at the source.

"We're asking people to check who they pay to take rubbish away.

"If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is, and sadly it's our residents and communities who ultimately pay the price."