Police have dispersed an illegal encampment of travellers, but mounds of rubbish have been left behind.
The group had settled in Lower Hall Lane, Chingford, not far from the Northern Circular Road, before officers evicted them on Tuesday afternoon.
Hoards of debris, including sofas, mattresses, door frames and window panes have been dumped on private land off the road.
Waltham Forest Council has confirmed it does not own the land, but that Thames Water own it.
A spokesman for Thames Water said: "We worked closely with the police to move the travellers on and although they have now left the site they left a lot of rubbish behind.
“We’re now in the process of removing the rubbish, but it will take some time. The debris is not impacting the normal operation of the site.”
Last year, the council applied for an injunction giving it greater powers to disperse illegal encampments.
It allows the authority to fine those living in illegal encampments and charge them for any fly-tipping.
In 2017, Mandy Thompson, head of neighbourhood management at the council, said illegal camps in the borough has increased to “alarming frequency” in recent years, with 11 sprining up between July and September.
The council spent up to £20,000 on legal fees and payments to court enforcement officers to remove the camps over the summer months of 2017.
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