Household rubbish gets thrown onto a tree grove in The Diplocks, Hailsham.

Last week a rusty bike was found blocking a ditch in the estate.

Old clothing was also dumped into large hollows in the ground.

Graffiti paint has been sprayed across the back of nearby industrial buildings.

Julie Keen, residents' association secretary, said the people dumping rubbish were 'not necessarily' from the estate'.

She said: 'How can you stop it?

'I don't know how you can, you need evidence.

'The housing association are working on it to keep it tidy.

'Residents are not happy about the rubbish as it makes the estate look untidy.'

Grace Cameron, chairman of the Diplocks Community Centre, thought the litter posed a health-and-safety risk.

She said: 'I do not think residents like it very much at all as litter collects litter.

'If somebody throws something in, someone will throw in more.

'It encourages rats and things.'

Housing association inspectors collected six large bags of rubbish on their last visit.

Rob Ward, Homegroup housing manager, said fly tipping had increased in the Diplocks and surrounding area.

He said: 'We are concerned about the level of fly tipping at the Diplocks but all incidents are investigated.

'Where identified, the perpetrators will be reported to the local authority.

'The cost for clearance of their waste will be passed to them.'
Homegroup has promised to deal with any rubbish building up at the site.

It is working with Wealden District Council to raise awareness of fly tipping and recycling.

Mike Pashler, Wealden head of waste and commercial services, said £40,000 was spent clearing fly tips across Wealden every year.

He said: 'We tackle no more on average than any other rural authority.

'Our records in the last six months show there has only been a few fly tipping incidents in the urban area of Hailsham.

'Fly tipping is more frequent in the rural areas and this includes a number of incidents around Hailsham.'