Fly-tipping increase is costing taxpayers

Fly-tipping cases in the West Midlands shot up by 11 per cent last year, new figures show.

A total of 73,093 cases of illegal dumping were recorded in 2007.

The figure equates to 6,091 each month, with the problem costing taxpayers in the region of £4.2million a year to clear up. Almost half of the fly-tipping involved items being dumped on roads, and 55 per cent of incidents involved household waste.

Gerald Kells, from the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: "Flytipping, particularly of household waste on our highways, is a major issue yet there have only been 82 successful prosecutions in the region.

"We would like local authorities and the Highways Agency, which has responsibility for trunk roads, to do much more about this. Litter is a nuisance. It impacts on the environment and can be harmful to wildlife."Mr Kells said that it was also undermining the region's image. "If we are to attract the sort of investment and entrepreneurs we need to bridge the economic gap between us and the rest of the country we need to get on top of this blight and ensure people want to live here," he added.

The group has now launched a major national campaign Stop the Drop aimed at tackling problems like flytipping and littering.

Councils across the West Midlands have invested thousands in covert camera equipment in a bid to catch dumpers red-handed.

But an Express & Star investigation recently revealed fly-tippers were largely getting away with it, with just a tiny fraction of crooks reported getting punished.

Our report told how three West Midland councils - Stafford, Lichfield and Wyre Forest - received a total of 870 complaints in 2007 and did not catch a single culprit.

More than 3,800 people called Wolverhampton City Council to report dumping between April 2007 and January this year, but just 70 warning letters were issued and seven people prosecuted.