Fly tipping: Someone left a coffin for London council workers to clear up

North London council reveals some of the stranger items it has been called to dispose of, including a coffin and a pair of live turtles

Council workers had to check that the coffin was empty before disposing of it (Redbridge Council)

North London litter bugs left a coffin for council workers to clear up, in one of the stranger instances of fly tipping to have taken place in the capital.

In a bid to highlight the issue of the illegal dumping of rubbish, Redbridge Council has revealed some of the weirder items it has been called to dispose of.

They also include dogs, a pair of live turtles and a mattress attached to a telegraph pole.

The matress was found attached to a telegraph pole (Redbridge Council)

Councillor Dev Sharma said: "It's mind blowing really, someone took the time to actually get a full size double mattress all the way up a telephone post in the middle of a street.

"It's difficult to think of any scenario where you would even consider doing that."

The coffin was found on a service road, thrown in front of a pile of tyres. Council workers had to check it was empty before they disposed of it.

Redbridge Council points out that fly tipping is illegal and those caught in the act can face an unlimited fine.

Other items the council has been called to dispose of include live turtles (Redbridge Council)

Councillor Sharma said: "It's truly amazing some of the things that we've found. Obviously the key thing for us is to make the borough tidier but we've run into a whole host of weird and wonderful things during that job.

"Where we come into contact with live animals we contact the appropriate authorities like the RSPCA, and ensure they are sent on to them."

Fly-tipping incidents had been on the decline in recent years, but government figures for 2013-14 show a recent increase.

The figures show local authorities in England dealt with 852,000 incidents of fly tipping in 2013/14 - a 20 per cent increase on the previous year - at a cost of £45.2 million.