IN this week’s Gazette, we carry two reports highlighting growing concern at fly-tipping in and around Halstead.

Unfortunately, such actions are often the result of laziness, sometimes resulting in a failure to carry out proper checks about the person paid to dispose of waste, as highlighted in the case of the owner of Curry Cottage.

Then there are incidents such as the lane off Queen Street in Sible Hedingham, which was covered in rubbish including a table, an armchair, and a door over the weekend.

There will always be individuals tempted to take the easy option and dump their rubbish out of sight and out of mind, instead of disposing of it properly.

For those, it is important that the deterrent in the form of a prosecution and hefty fine is clear in their mind, which is why credit is due to Braintree Council’s officers for diligently tracking down offenders.

In the council’s welcome words, they will “continue to pursue those who have no respect for the place they live”.

Further south in Essex, there have been more industrial-scale incidents where tonnes of trash has been discarded on fields, costing taxpayers and landlords thousands of pounds to clear up and blotting the landscape.

Whether it’s down to the fact Halstead is further away from London, where much of this rubbish originated, or the stance from Braintree Council, we are fortunate that this epidemic has not spread to our picturesque corner of Essex.

We can only hope that this will continue to be the case.