A PLEA for help from the community has gone put from the Environment Agency, local landowners and Wychavon District Council in a bid to stop fly tippers from ruining a riverside area of Evesham.

Common Road on the banks of the River Avon has for some time suffered from a persistent fly-tipping problem, said by Steve Jordan, head on environmental health at Wychavon to be "commercial waste, probably dumped to avoid paying landfill tax,"

Efforts to clean up the mess are costing landowners and the council - and taxpayers - a considerable amount of time and money.

The agency has been working with the other parties to put in deterrent measures and its investigations are ongoing. When the offender is identified, both the agency and the council have powers to prosecute and this could be very expensive indeed for the person or organisation responsible for fly-tipping the rubbish.

Fines in the magistrates court can be up to £20,000 for each offence and, if it goes to Crown Court, the fine can be unlimited.

Area environment manager Dr David Hudson, who has been dealing with the case, said: "There is really no excuse for this kind of anti-social behaviour. Fly-tipping is an eyesore and can harm both the environment and human health. Clearing it up every time is costing the people of Evesham and the landowner a lot of money. This is not something local people should have to put up with and if we all work together I hope we can put an end to it."

If anyone sees rubbish dumped anywhere, but especially in the Common Road area, they should ring the agency's free hotline on 0800 80 70 60.