An estate agents in Tooting has been fined £400 after dumping a "big pile of office waste" on Mitcham Lane.

The behaviour of staff at Barnard Marcus was branded as "outrageous" by environment spokesman Councillor Jonathan Cook after they left a pile of cardboard boxes and packaging beside a street litter bin near their offices.

The rubbish was tracked back to the Tooting estate agents by Wandsworth Council's newly expanded squad of "litter busters".

The Mitcham Lane branch of Barnard Marcus will now face further investigations into their waste management.

Cllr Cook said: “This was pretty outrageous behaviour by staff at a seemingly reputable company who should have known a lot better.

“Quite why they thought it was acceptable to simply dump all their rubbish on the pavement for someone else to clear away frankly escapes me.

“I am however obviously pleased that we were able to trace the culprits and penalise them. The inevitable bad publicity their conduct will now attract should act as a warning to other businesses in the area. If they value their reputation they should avoid making the same mistake.”

Since May 1 this year, the council’s team of litter inspectors has issued more than 700 on-the-spot-fines for fly tipping and littering.