Official figures showing Enfield has the worst fly-tipping levels in London are “ludicrous,” say the council.

Enfield Council has denied numbers which say there are over 75,000 incidents of flytipping in the area – nearly double that of the incidents in Haringey which had the second highest number in the capital with just over 33,000.

The figures were first released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in 2016, but were brought to light following a report by London Assembly member Susan Hall.

A spokesperson for Enfield Council said: “The figures produced by DEFRA are clearly ludicrous and have arisen because local authorities report fly-tipping in different ways.

“This ridiculous anomaly has arisen because, unlike Enfield, other local authorities do not report fly tips that are cleared before they are reported by the public.

“Enfield is one of the cleanest borough’s in London and the Council is one of the most efficient local authorities in the country in keeping the streets clean and dealing with fly tips.”

The council said if it adopted the “same approach” to reporting fly-tipping as other boroughs it would report around 5,900 fly tips a year.

The report also brings up discrepancies in the prices council’s charge for ‘bulky waste’ collection – waste that is too large to be collected during normal rubbish collections.

Waltham Forest Council charges nothing to remove so-called “bulky waste,” Harrow Council charges £35 for up to four items to be collected and Enfield charges £36 for the collection of just one item.

Commenting on the issue, a spokesperson for the council said: “Enfield Council has been forced to make savings of £161 million since 2010 because of cuts in its budget from central government.

“Enfield Council, along with every other local authority in the country would love to be able to offer free unlimited bulky waste collections but the stark financial reality is that we simply cannot afford to do so.

“Unfortunately providing a free or cheaper bulky waste collection would invariably mean diverting funding away from other critical areas.”

Data from London councils in the report estimates London local authorities spend over £18 million on clearing up fly tipping each year.

Joanne Laban, leader of the Conservative group at Enfield Council, said: “The Council needs to get its act together and provide more CCTV to catch offenders, make the council’s bulky waste collection more budget friendly rather than price residents out of disposing of waste correctly, be flexible over side waste plus name and shame those who are caught fly-tipping.

“Cleaning up fly tipping is imperative because people are less likely to choose to dump rubbish in clean areas than those that are already filled with fly-tipping.”