2,000 TONS of rubbish dumped on Sandwell streets as fly-tipping rockets

Fly-tipping increased by 30 per cent as council bosses were left with costly clean-up operations - making it the 'largest year on year increase in recent years'.

The number of fly-tipping removal requests for 2015/16 was 3,495 and is estimated to be 4,500 for 2016/17.

In 2013/14 it was 4,078 and in 2014/15, the requests had risen to 4,359.

The estimated cost of clearing and disposing the waste from across the borough is between £250,000 and £300,000 each year.

In 2015, there were 4,140 fly tipping incidents in Sandwell which cost the council £250,000 to clean up.

An astounding 55 tons of rubbish were dumped at Black Patch Park in Smethwick in February by travellers, leaving the council to pay a staggering £20,775.

A council document regarding the fly-tipping states the figures are 'probably the largest year on year increase in recent years.'

However, on the spot fixed penalty fines of £400 to crackdown on the issue were introduced by the council in December.

Councillor Preet Gill, Sandwell Council's cabinet member for public health and protection, said: “Fly-tipping is a scourge on the whole country – and the main problem is people who charge householders to remove rubbish and bulky waste and then just dump it. It’s absolutely disgraceful.

“In Sandwell, we have brought several successful prosecutions in recent months, as well as putting in more cameras to catch people in the act.

“It would be a much greater deterrent if courts imposed higher penalties for fly-tipping. They can issue much higher fines of up to £50,000 or six months in prison for individuals and up to £95,000 for small businesses.

“I would also ask householders to be vigilant and check that people they pay to remove bulky waste from their homes have a waste carrier licence.”

The report states that the council is planning further initiatives around the removal of waste from private land and traveller related flytips.