Fly-tippers cost taxpayers £20,000

Fly-tippers in Stafford are costing taxpayers £20,000 to clear away their junk, figures show.

And the council was only able to recoup a fraction of that figure – £735 – in fines.

Rubbish is being dumped across the borough more than once every day last year, according to results obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

Between April 1 2010 and March 31 2011, bosses at Stafford Borough Council recorded 369 incidents of fly-tipping – with only five successful prosecutions.

Small van drivers were the most frequent abusers, according to figures, with officials recording 158 incidents of them dumping waste.

Transit vans dropped off 60 items, car boot loads were responsible 82 times, while there were 48 incidents of individual items being chucked away.

The estimated clearance disposal costs were £20,445 with a total of 208 enforcement actions taken.