Council chiefs have welcomed tougher laws to punish fly-tippers – with one councillor calling for covert surveillance to catch offenders.

The comments came after the Government introduced a new law which allows local authorities to levy on-the-spot fines on those caught in the act, with penalties of up to £400 for each offender.

But one national campaign group fears the penalties will not deter the worst offenders, who dump anything from old sofas to fridges and rubble.

Figures show the extent of the problem, with Allerdale suffering nearly 700 fly-tipping incidents in the last year alone, and almost 800 the previous year.

Copeland dealt with 391 instances of fly-tipping in the last year, while in Carlisle there were 350 – which cost £17,000 to clear away.

Carlisle’s Longtown and Rockcliffe councillor Ray Bloxham welcomed the new fines but called for even tougher action.


Ray Bloxham “It’s welcome if we can catch the culprits,” he said.

“I have battled for a long time for us to use some sort of covert CCTV in the places where we get regular fly-tipping. Other authorities do it.

“There are two or three places locally where you get it – one of them off the A7 by Sandysyke and one past Arthuret Church.”

Fellow Conservative city councillor James Bainbridge also welcomed the fines, saying: “Fly-tipping is antisocial. The law needed beefing up.”

A city council spokesman said the authority wanted to work with residents to crack down on fly tipping. 

She said: “It’s one of our priority areas and we urge residents to contact us with any information which could help us find those who dump rubbish.”

An Allerdale council spokeswoman said its officials already issue fines for littering, abandoning cars and dog fouling.

“We know antisocial behaviour like this is something that the public hates,” she said.

“That’s why we have adopted a zero tolerance approach: we issue fixed penalty notices, will prosecute if they are not paid, and this could result in a large fine or even a custodial sentence for certain offences.

“We need the public’s help to protect our environment.”

Janice Carol, waste and enforcement manager at Copeland council, also welcomed the new powers.

She said: “While Copeland experiences low numbers of incidents compared to the national average, many of these are left in roadside verges in picturesque locations. Fly-tipping is illegal and unsightly and can be detrimental to the environment and to the reputation of our borough.”

The CLA (Country Land and Business Association) said there were 900,000 fly-tipping incidents in the country in 2014 to 2015. Yet there were fewer than 2,000 prosecutions, said the charity’s north regional director Dorothy Fairburn.

She added: “The problem seems to have worsened recently in some areas, possibly as a result of local authorities making changes to their household recycling operations, and the CLA has been calling for offenders to be dealt with more robustly.

“Fixed penalty notices alone will not solve the problem.”