A crack down on fly tipping saw police and council workers team up for a day-long blitz last week,  (Beginning Nov 19) and the BBC Local Democracy Reporting service went along for the ride.

The Croydon Council-led Operation Kestrel took place across six locations on Wednesday, November 21.

With a focus on fly-tipping hte council’s crime team said cracking down on small criminal gangs involved in other crimes including drug dealing and even prostitution

We joined the police teams who were pulling cars over in Purley Road.

As well as the council’s environmental crime team and police, teams were involved from from DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) and HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs) ready to catch motorists trying the cheat the system.

Acting police sergeant Martin Flannery said: “What we are targeting is transit type vehicles.

“We are looking for traffic offences and whether the drivers have MOTs and valid driving licences.

“It makes a lot more sense to have multiple personnel to do it together because once we’re done the other agencies will do their checks.”

Throughout the day there were 80 inspections in Purley Way.

One vehicle was seized, another stopped from driving away and four served with notices for improvements before they could leave.

The council staff used the day as a way to see if any vans were carrying waste the they could be disposing of illegally.

Environmental enforcement manager at Croydon Council, Chris McAvoy, said each month 1,500-2,000 fly tipping reports are received.

As well as costing the council money to clear Mr McAvoy said some fly-tipping enterprises are run by small crime gangs.

“This is a main thoroughfare in and out of Croydon it has got a big impact so it’s a form of information activity in itself,” He said.

“We are addressing a lot of different issues here – A lot of people who use red diesel or don’t tax their vehicles, a lot of them will be involved in other activities.”

Mr McAvoy added that people who are professionally fly tipping could be charging up to £200 to take away a load of rubbish before dumping it illegally.

“Premises or commercial units are broken into by small crime gangs,” he said. “They’ll fill them with waste and abandon it – It can cost millions to clear.”

He said the council’s environmental health officers are prepared to deal with a range of things.

“We know it is not just fly tipping. The team attacks everything from anti social behaviour, fly tipping, drug dealing and prostitution.”

The fuel in each car pulled over was checked out by two people from HMRC, to see whether it was using red diesel – which is intended for farm vehicles and machinery and is sold at a low tax rate.

Often officers can see straight away whether the diesel is dyed, but all fuel is run through testing in the back of the HMRC van which can detect chemicals even if the dye has been removed. 

As well as the stops in Purley Way, Operation Kestrel included council officers and police targeting other crimes in the borough at different locations.

On the same day, 10 Fixed Pnalty Notices were issued by council officers along with two Community Protection Warning Notices and one fine for breaching a Public Space Protection Order.

25 sets of graffiti removed and “high-visibility patrols” were carried out throughout the day.