Hillingdon Council has published photographs of suspected fly-tippers on Facebook, asking residents to help identify people illegally dumping rubbish.
The appeal follows a crackdown announced last month, with offenders facing fines of up to £1,000 and possible prosecution.
A council spokesperson said the response showed ‘how strongly residents feel’ and that a number of people had come forward with information, which would now be investigated.
However, some of the posts have attracted racist comments. The council said more than 2,400 comments had been posted since Monday and that racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic or xenophobic content would be removed.
It added that it expected social media companies to have effective measures in place.
Responding to concerns about vigilantism, the council said other authorities use similar appeals and that it does not want residents to ‘take matters into their own hands’.
