WOKINGHAM council are reminding residents that they take fly-tipping seriously after new figures reveal that nobody has been handed the maximum penalty since 2014.

The Local Government Association has revealed that no-one convicted of fly-tipping has been given the maximum £50,000 fine or 12 months in prison by the courts since 2014.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) are urging councils to take more action to deter potential fly-tippers after cases in the UK have risen by 40 per cent in the last year to nearly one million incidents.

Robin Edwards, regional director at CLA, said: “The CLA estimates it costs a farmer or landowner an average of £844 to clear up each incident, while the environmental damage can be considerable.

“We appreciate that councils have budgetary pressures but failing to tackle the menace of fly-tipping could ultimately make their financial situations worse if it means they end up facing increased clean-ups costs dealing with more dumped rubbish.

“The message needs to be sent loud and clear that dumping waste will not be tolerated, and those who do it will be prosecuted.

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

In Wokingham there has been one fixed penalty notice as well as one successful prosecution against fly-tippers since April 2018.

Councillor John Halsall, executive member for environment, leisure and libraries is reassuring residents that they take incidents seriously.

He said: “We take fly-tipping very seriously. The council will and does pursue fly-tippers. We issue fixed penalty notices and prosecute when we have evidence of waste being dumped inappropriately in the borough.”

“Our officers put an ‘under investigation’ sticker on fly tips we are investigating to let people know we are actively looking at the fly-tip and also to send a message to the fly-tippers.”

“The other side of the issue is about reporting fly-tipping. I would urge all our resident to report fly-tipping whenever they see it. And, of course, to be careful about who they give their waste to for disposal.”

For more information about CLA, visit: www.cla.org.uk/your-area/south-east/regional-news.