The Government has told Surrey residents they are able to take the County Council to the High Court over controversial waste charges introduced in September.

From November 1: Surrey County Council's waste charges branded 'illegal' by opposition councillors as calls made to government to take action

The charges, dubbed by the Liberal Democrat opposition as the 'Tory Tip Tax', which have seen visitors to any of Surrey's nine recycling centres charged £5 to recycle a tyre or £4 to recycle a waste bag.

The charges focus on waste from construction, such as plasterboard, bricks and tiles, as well as tyres.

Fears that fly-tipping from rogue builders would increase on Surrey's roads formed the main opposition to the charges, with residents unhappy at being unable to clear DIY waste for free.

But councillor Mike Goodman, cabinet member for environment and planning, said one bag of DIY waste a day would not incur any fees.

Earlier this month, the Lib Dems accused the levy of being "illegal", and councillor Stephen Cooksey, the spokesman for highways and environment at the County Council, wrote to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to complain.

Cllr Cooksey said an "astonishing" letter he received last week 'suggests' residents can take the Conservative-led council to the High Court over the charges.

The letter, signed by Nick Bagshaw, a senior policy advisor at the DCLG, said that the Local Authorities Order 2015 prevents local authorities from charging residents to dispose of household waste and recycling.

Mr Bagshaw also noted that councils can charge for the disposal of non-household waste such as car tyres, construction and demolition waste at waste centres, but the council should "offer clarity for their residents about what charges apply and how these charges are justified".

He said the Government would take action of "over-zealous charging regimes".

Referring to next steps for residents, he said: "An interested person, such as one of the council’s residents, can apply to the High Court for a judicial review of the legality of the decision to charge residents for a type of waste if s/he is of the view that it is 'household' and should be disposed of for free."

Cllr Cooksey slammed the "poor" response from the Government, who he said should enforce "the law rather than expecting residents to do it themselves".

He said: "Rather than suggesting residents go to court, the government should be telling the county council to drop these charges immediately.

"I shall shortly be writing to government ministers at DCLG asking them to do just that.

"In their letter, the Government clearly state that charges should not extend to disposing of household waste from DIY but that is exactly what the Tory County Council is doing.

"Liberal Democrats in Surrey have consistently opposed these unfair charges and will continue to do so until they are dropped".