Mattresses, furniture and garden waste: Fly-tippers pay up £10k in fines during crackdown

Sandwell Council has stepped up action against fly-tippers since a new taskforce was set up to try and stamp out the problem which has proved hugely costly to the authority which has been left to clear up the mess.

Bosses say reports of fly-tipping have also fallen sharply, with Smethwick, which has been a hotspot, seeing a 40 per cent reduction.

Cameras have gone up in areas which had been routinely targeted by fly-tippers while punishments have been made more severe.

Fly-tippers have handed over a combined total of £10,800 since May as black bags, mattresses, white goods, furniture and garden waste were dumped mostly in Smethwick, as well as West Bromwich, Oldbury, Tipton, Rowley Regis and the Yew Tree Estate.

Across Sandwell as a whole, fly-tipping reports are down 13 per cent for the period from May to August compared to the same period in 2016.

Reports dropped from 2,047 to 1,788.

In Smethwick, the reduction was 39 per cent, from 1,025 to 628.

Councillor Elaine Costigan, the council’s cabinet member for public health and protection, said: “The combination of rapid enforcement and putting cameras in hotspots seems to be making a real difference.

"Fly-tipping is unsightly and anti-social. There really is no excuse for dumping rubbish on our streets and open spaces. I hope the message is now hitting home that fly-tippers will be fined.”

Councillor Costigan said fly-tipping was also an unnecessary financial burden on the council taxpayer, with the authority having to deal with illegally dumped waste at a cost of more than £300,000 a year.

The tougher stance on fly-tipping in Sandwell came after more than 2,000 tons of rubbish were dumped on the streets in the 12 months to April.