Businesses and landowners are calling for “decisive action” to counter the blight of fly-tipping after new govern ment figures revealed there were more than 2,000 incidents recorded in south Bucks in the past year.

The CLA, which is the membership organisation for owners of land, property and business in rural England and Wales, has said the figures show the number of fly-tipping incidents remain “alarmingly high”, with almost one million cases recorded by local authorities around the country in a single year.

It added that the true figures for fly-tipping are likely to be “significantly” higher, as the statistics do not include incidents on private land where the landowner has responsibility to oversee the clearance and costs for waste removal.

It estimates fly-tipping costs a farmer or landowner an average of £844 to clear up each incident.

In the Wycombe district, the total number of recorded incidents in 2017/18 was 928, while in South Bucks, 698 incidents were recorded, and 433 incidents were recorded in the Chiltern district.

In south Bucks recently, householder David Newson, 41, of Churchway, Haddenham, was fined £1,500 after he hired a man with a van to dispose of rubbish from his house, which was then found dumped illegally near Aylesbury.

At his interview, Newson said he had found a man with a van online and arranged for collection of the waste from his house for £25. He admitted he had not checked whether the man was registered as an authorised waste carrier.

And café owner Nabil Naja, 55, of Newark Crescent, Park Royal, London, was fined more than £2,000 for fly-tipping after he handed two unidentified men six sacks of waste wiring after they offered to take it away saying they had value as scrap metal.

The sacks were later found dumped in woodland along Park Lane, Burnham, near Burnham Beeches (pictured above).

In August, the Bucks Free Press reported that fly-tipping was on the rise in the county, with 27 incidents reported in just one week.

Businesses and landowners are now calling for stronger enforcement of legal action to help combat the fly-tipping that is blighting the countryside.

CLA Regional director Robin Edwards said: “The reality is that overall, the true figures are considerably higher than these latest official statistics, as many incidents go unrecorded and unreported.

“Private landowners are liable for any waste dumped on their land and are fed up of having to clear up other people’s mess, and paying for the privilege.

“It is vital that more prosecutions are brought forward successfully to encourage people to do the right thing and dispose of their rubbish through proper legal channels.

“Councils must send a clear message to fly-tippers that they will face financial consequences.

“But to really combat this crime against the countryside we need to see tougher penalties which act as a true deterrent.

“Imposing and enforcing stiffer penalties which better reflect the seriousness of the crime is crucial, along with seizing the vehicles used to fly-tip.”