Express & Star

‘Crushing blow’ in crackdown on Walsall fly-tippers

Walsall Council is cracking down on fly-tippers – by seizing their vehicles.

Published
Fly-tipped rubbish

Community protection officers are stopping the fly-tippers in their tracks by seizing their vehicles and then crushing them or selling them on.

Since January, the authority has already seized four vehicles.

Acting on CCTV and wider intelligence, community protection officers had identified the vehicles as all being associated with criminal activity and directly involved in the dumping of illegal waste across Walsall.

After a recent series of council raids, three vehicles were seized and then towed away. The vehicles will now be sold for council revenue or crushed, depending on their market value.

In another recent and related council swoop, a suspicious looking vehicle that was parked in an isolated area of Walsall was also seized. The van was cross-referenced and found to be ‘a vehicle of interest’ - that was potentially linked to some earlier fly-tipping offences caught on CCTV footage.

Officers had spotted it parked up loaded with garden waste. Further council and DVLA checks quickly revealed the vehicle was untaxed andin an unsafe condition. Bailiffs seized the van on the same day it was reported as suspicious – and Walsall Council later crushed it.

Walsall Council leader Mike Bird, said: “We are all sick of fly-tipping, so I am determined to throw all the powers we have at it and stamp it out of Walsall.

"From April 2020 to February 2021 we recorded 3,271 cases of fly-tipping and it cost us £250,177 to clean up the mess left behind.

"I am very pleased that our tough vehicle action has dealt a crushing blow to those selfish few, who think they are exempt from the law.

“Vehicle seizures, prosecutions and fixed penalty fines send out a strong message that this council really means business.

“So be warned – we will fine you, we will find you and we will crush your vehicle.”