Volunteer litter pickers have hit out at filthy fly-tippers after a brook became filled with rubbish.

Ian and Mandy Batten, a retired couple from West Cliff Gardens in Herne Bay, have helped to clear waste dumped near Hampton Beach for two years.

But the duo are now at the end of their tether after a waterway became polluted and partially dammed with waste last week.

The pair told KentOnline: “We come and litter pick at Swalecliffe Avenue car park each week.

“Normally it’s drinks cans, laughing gas canisters - but then we found a makeshift camp here.

“We reported it to Canterbury City Council, who said it was in hand, last weekend.

“We returned last week and saw all the rubbish had been thrown into the brook. This area is a disgrace really.”

The Battens reported the issue via the authority's fly-tipping page, and through their local councillor, Peter Vickery-Jones, on Saturday, October 8.

Council spokesman Leo Whitlock says a "rare glitch" meant the waste was not cleared from the brook "as quickly as we would have liked".

He has confirmed the site, which runs alongside Hampton Bay Avenue, was cleared on Friday.

Ian and Mandy began litter picking in the area during the first lockdown as a way to stay active.

They come to the site at least once a week and have found people’s lack of care frustrating.

“This week, a hubcap, a lamp shade, laughing gas canisters and a bike have been dumped in the area,” they said.

“It’s just people come here and dump their rubbish.”

The brook has attracted various bird species - such as herons, kingfishers and yellowhammers - to it in recent months.

Litter in waterways can also cause flooding if the rubbish creates a dam, causing water to build up with nowhere to go.

Ian, who worked for the city council for 11 years before retiring, is calling for a crack down on fly-tipping.

“We talk about protecting the environment, but we just can't turn a blind eye to our important waterways becoming clogged,” he added.

“It’s a major job, and it isn't something someone with a pair of wellies can do.”

Mr Whitlock insists the authority is "determined to catch" illicit dumpers and "to see them punished as strongly as the law allows".

“Fly-tipping and those who carry it out should always be condemned in the strongest possible terms for the damage it causes and the costs council taxpayers incur for the selfish actions of those who dump their rubbish," he stated.

“Our enforcement officers visited the scene on Thursday to gather what evidence they could find and Canenco crews cleared the rubbish the following day.

“A rare glitch in the system meant the rubbish was not cleared as quickly as we would have liked, for which we apologise and are working to ensure it does not happen again.”