Fly-tipped green waste will be left in the streets, in order to send a message that it will not be tolerated, the council says.

Earlier this year the council introduced a £40 green waste charge as a way of saving money but critics feared it would lead to an increase in fly-tipping.

While there are no exact figures, the council has said it will not make collecting any dumped green waste a priority in an attempt to deter people from breaking the law.

They have said any hazardous waste will be collected but the rest will only be taken when a town-wide fly-tip collection is done.

However, Labour have criticised the move saying it will lead to a lower quality environment and the charge needs to be reversed if the problem is going to be solved.

Coun Fay Howard (Lab, Liden, Eldene and Park South), the shadow Streetsmart spokeswoman, said: “The fly-tipping of green waste has become a new issue since the introduction of the green waste collection charge.

“When the green waste collection charge was proposed, we said this would lead to increased fly-tipping, which would be an additional expense to the council to collect.

“It seems that rather than pay for the collection of the increased fly-tipping of green waste, the council have decided to instead just leave them for a few months leading to a poorer environment.

“I understand that the council are reluctant to immediately collect the fly-tipping because of the cost and because it will encourage further fly-tipping. But this is all the more reason to scrap the green waste collection charge and bring back a free service.”

Coun Brian Ford (Con, Wroughton and Wichelstowe) said: “While a small minority of people have selfishly decided to fly-tip green waste, there has not been a significant increase across the borough as a whole.

“Those anti-social people who think it’s acceptable to litter the town with their waste don’t deserve to be rewarded for it by having it collected, “But it can be a hazard or an eyesore to the decent majority who wouldn’t dream of doing it themselves.

“We’ve decided to immediately move the waste causing a hazard, and what remains will be marked for collection on the next scheduled fly-tipping clean up round, “We will investigate any fly-tipping cases which are reported to us and pursue the people responsible for it through the courts if necessary. “