MORE than £600,000 a year is unnecessarily wasted as Bucks Council is forced to clean up after criminals who flytip.

Bucks Council has deployed new measures to stamp out the issue and enlisted the help of intelligent cameras to catch the culprits.

Cameras have been installed in known fly-tipping hotspots around the south of the county in a bid to curb the problem.

The authority also aid that unofficial layby areas are being blocked and turned into grassy banks in another defence tactic.

Bucks Council cabinet member for climate change and environment Gareth Williams said: "We want to make it clear to all would-be criminals, we won’t tolerate fly-tipping in Bucks and we will continue to use all available means to make sure anyone who does carry out this atrocious crime will be caught and prosecuted.

"These new intelligent cameras will make it much easier to prosecute fly-tippers and allow for quicker clean-up."

The authority said hundreds of criminals have been prosecuted over the past decade, however more than £600K is still being spent clearing up illegally dumped waste on public land - money that could be used on other local services.

The 'new weapons' hoped to help catch criminals fly-tipping have been funded by £50,000 from the Department for Environment, Farming & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

The cameras can identify when a vehicle has left rubbish behind and in real time, will provide a video report of the incident to enforcement officers - including the registration of the vehicle.

The additional efforts at unofficial laybys has seen 400 tonnes of tested soil, that was illegally dumped elsewhere in Bucks, used to build up grass banks in several areas.

Bucks Free Press:

Councillor Williams added: "My message to residents is; if you’re having rubbish removed, please don’t pay cash.

"Use a company that has a Waste Carrier Licence, and ask for a record of who you’ve paid. By having an electronic method of payment, you can help us track down and prosecute the fly-tipper.”

When the enforcement team investigates a fly-tipping incident they will visit householders to ask for evidence that they’ve taken reasonable steps to identify the person hired to remove their rubbish and to ensure that it would be disposed of properly.

If the householder can provide evidence of the identity of the person who took their rubbish away such as details of a bank card payment, the investigation can move to focus on the fly-tipper.

However, if the householder has paid an unidentified individual cash in hand to remove rubbish, they may be issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice for failing in their ‘duty of care’. In the most serious cases this could result in a court summons.

For details on how to check when hiring someone to clear rubbish click here.