South Staffordshire fly-tipping reports fall by a quarter
The number of reports of fly-tipping has fallen by a quarter in South Staffordshire in five years.
Council bosses say a crackdown on the problem is working, with nine people prosecuted last year alone – the highest in the region.
It comes after the Express & Star revealed that fly-tipping was rocketing in most areas of the Black Country and Staffordshire, with 13,298 reports last year but just 12 prosecutions. More than £1.7 million was spent by councils over the last three years tackling the problem. But in South Staffordshire last year, nine people were prosecuted and convicted for fly-tipping, resulting in fines and costs of more than £8000.
Farmer Chris Inett, who dumped more than 150 tyres and blocked Bennett's Lane in Trescott, was ordered to pay almost £3,000 in June. Incidents of fly-tipping have decreased in South Staffordshire, from 455 in 2009/10 to 313 in 2014/15. Councillor Roger Lees, South Staffordshire Council's cabinet member for legal and public health protection, said: "We still think this is too many.
"We investigate all allegations within two working days, undertake proactive enforcement, perform stop and searches with the police and other agencies, and have a strong customer service focus on this issue. We agree, all fly-tipping is an absolute disgrace.
"This is why we are proactively dealing with the issue, prosecuting offenders and ensuring residents live in a district where fly-tipping is taken seriously."
In Sandwell the number of incidents has gone up from 2,462 three years ago to 3,830, while in Wolverhampton it rose from 3,054 to 4,427.
In Walsall there were 3,362 reports in 2014/15, which is 27 fewer than the year before but still far higher than the 2,067 total in 2012/13. Dudley's total rose from 729 to 820 in three years, while in Cannock Chase it went from 318 to 416, and from 353 to 443 in Stafford.
