How do YOU read this sign? Why drivers are misreading these opening times at a tip in Walsall

Two information boards on either side of the entrance to Aldridge recycling depot in Walsall read: 'This site is closed every Wednesday & Tuesday' in large letters.

But because of the back-to-front order of the sign, many people read it as Wednesday and Thursday and turn up on a day it is closed - leading some visitors to dump their rubbish illegally in frustration instead of returning to the depot on another day, said Councillor Mike Bird, Conservative leader of Walsall Council.

"Some people may think the sign is funny but actually it has serious consequences. Flytipping costs the council hundreds of thousands of pounds a year and this sign is contributing to those rising costs," said Councillor Bird.

"If it's not pointed out to you, or you're not concentrating, people read 'Tuesday' as 'Thursday', it's an easy thing to do. I've read it like that and other people have raised it with me also.

"The problem is if people turn up with a car load of rubbish to recycle and the site is closed, they may very well dump it elsewhere. If you've got your car full, it's going to be very hard to go home, unload it all, and load up again another day. The temptation to flytip is great."

Flytipping has blighted the borough in recent years. Latest figures show the problem cost the council up to £28,000 a month last year. This year's bill is expected to top £120,000.

It is feared an unpopular move to scrap weekly collections in favour of fortnightly pick-ups in order to save £1 million will only add to the problem. With around 2,000 people having their applications for bigger bins rejected, many are predicting a further rise in flytipping.

A report earlier this year revealed the worst hit spots for flytipping in the borough. They included Slacky Lane, Spout Lane, Winterley Lane and Bull Lane, Moxley.

In August it emerged that cameras designed to catch offenders in Darlaston had not been working for six weeks. The two hawk-eye cameras, at a cost to the council of £5,000, had been out of use, failing to capture incidents of fires and flytipping.

They were obtained after it was revealed that bags of rubbish and commercial waste were dumped in Walsall on more than 5,000 occasions between 2012 and 2014.

Councillor Bird said: "I've informed the council at least half a dozen times and each time they say they know about it and they are going to change it but nothing's been done.

"Given the cost of dumping, perhaps we ought to sort out these signs."

Councillor Chris Jones, Walsall's portfolio holder for clean and green, said: "We are aware of this and it is being addressed."