VILLAGES are suffering the "worst flytipping in a decade" with country lanes and even a church yard the latest targets of dumped rubbish.

Residents and councillors have hit out at a recent spate of flytipping in lanes in and around Great Oakley and Thorpe.

Last Tuesday, plastic chairs, a bike, scrap wood and a barbecue were just some of the items dumped in a ditch and on the side of the road at The Soils in Great Oakley.

A resident, who posted on the village's Facebook page about the rubbish, said the problem is getting worse.

She said: "We have a problem with overgrown hedges, boy racers, flooded roads, all on a quiet country lane, which is only getting worse, and although I have reported some bits, nothing ever seems to get done.

"No-one seems to care, and the flytipping is the worst its been in the 12 years I've lived here.

"We get bathroom suites, kitchens, white goods, laminate flooring even the internal bits of a caravan once."

Mike Bush, Tendring councillor for Great Oakley, branded the flytipping a "disgrace" after finding remnants of an old bathroom in All Saints churchyard last Thursday.

He said: "This is what we are suffering, from as soon as Essex County Council put those new policies in place at the recycling centres.

"People have to travel to Clacton - 15 miles - to dump some items.

"Residents are incensed - it's not good.

"And with the changes coming in next May with Tendring Council switching to fortnightly collections, I can only see it getting worse with normal waste being dumped not just commercial."

Mr Bush went through the rubbish he found and discovered a child's drawing in with some old bathroom tiles.

It had been signed by a parent - so he is hoping the information will lead to finding the person responsible.

The Crime Not To Care, supported by Tendring Council, says if your waste is found dumped, even if someone else has done it, you could be held responsible for the crime.

Mr Bush added: "We've had two asbestos roofs dumped on farmland, and the Beaumont Road to Thorpe had two big piles recently including tyres and furniture.

"It's ruining our countryside."