Residents were forced to clear up a huge pile of fly-tipped rubbish after two people reportedly wearing facemasks used a tipper truck to dump an ‘old kitchen’.

Cars drove on pavements and the S4 bus was forced to divert following the incident in Grange Road at around 4pm on April 6.

An old sink, tiles, and cooker were among the waste dumped in the road as the police and Sutton Council refuse collectors rushed to the incident.

Witness Beresford Campbell, of Thicket Road, saw the aftermath and said: “I saw rubbish strewn in this little cul-de-sac.

"There was a gentleman going through the rubbish and I said, ‘Has there been an accident?’ and he said, ‘No, it’s fly-tipping. I’m looking for a clue like an envelope with an address’. He identified himself as a Sutton councillor but I didn’t get his name.

“I walked into Grange Road and there was much more rubbish littered about the road and there was a police car blocking the traffic across the rubbish, the two S4 buses going either way were held up and people were doing U-turns.

“They thought they had facemasks on and just backed into Brandy Way, lifted up the tipper truck, and then drove off down Brandy Way and Grange Road and all the rubbish just came out.”

Mr Campbell, now retired at 77 and dad-of-two, praised the community spirit which ‘kicked in’ when people came out of their houses with shovels and brooms before the council got involved with bins to help clear up the rubbish.

A Met Police spokesman said officers were called to reports of a road traffic hazard where waste material was believed to have been dumped in the road by people inside a white tipper truck which then made off at speed.

Mr Campbell said neighbours saw ‘two guys’ but this is currently unconfirmed by police.

The obstruction was cleared eventually after around 45 minutes before the road was reopened, while no arrests have currently been made in relation to the incident.

He added: “Neighbours were saying, ‘Bloody hell the sheer cheek of it! The sheer cheek, in broad daylight.’

“You hear about fly-tipping, I mean farmers are having a rough time aren’t they? It happens in the middle of the night but 5pm in the afternoon, or 4.45pm, you don’t expect it. Not in Sutton.

“This was a residential area.”

A Transport for London (TfL) spokeswoman confirmed the S4 bus was diverted due to fly-tipping, however, the authority is unable to release any video footage of it as it was believed one of them could have identified those responsible.

Sutton Council has been approached for further comment.

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