A pile of rubbish and rubble dumped on a country road and leaving it blocked has sparked an investigation to find the culprits.

And a furious council leader says the selfish act could have cost lives if emergency services needed to get through.

Dartford council is appealing for residents or drivers in the area who might have seen anything suspicious or the fly-tipping taking place in Southfleet.

Building material, debris and waste was found strewn across the road near Park Corner Road and Foxhounds Lane on Friday evening.

The amount of rubbish meant the entire road was covered but council officers attended to clear it.

Council leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con) said: "Any amount of fly-tipping, in any part of our borough, is totally unacceptable.

“In this instance, the criminals who dumped their waste so selfishly have blocked a road in the process, causing disruption not only to local traffic, but potentially to emergency services who could be on their way to save a life.

“I’d urge anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area on Friday to come forward and speak to our environmental enforcement team.”

The local authority says anyone who might have dashcam footage if they were in the area between 6pm and 10pm on December 10 could hold vital evidence.

They have been asked to look for footage showing goods vehicles which might have been carrying the waste.

Anyone with information can contact council teams on 01322 343434 or email environmental.enforcement@dartford.gov.uk, quoting reference DBC/EARS/01863/2021.