Fly-tippers strike three times a day in county (From Worcester News)

Fly-tippers strike three times a day in county

11:00am Thursday 16th August 2012 in News By Tom Edwards

RUBBISH is illegally dumped in the countryside of south Worcestershire three times a day.

Car tyres, household rubbish, chipboard, wrecked old washing machines and crockery were just some of the items fly tipped.

The worst-affected area was Wychavon, where there were 514 reports of flytipping between April 2011 and April this year, and 11 prosecutions. A total of 24 people were fined £75, after they were either caught actively fly tipping or traced back through an address tag on a dumped item.

In Worcester there were 360 fly tipping reports, while in Malvern it was 202, with no prosecutions reported, although two people were fined in Malvern after being caught transporting large-scale household items from one site to another without a waste carrier’s licence.

Councils chiefs in Worcester have teamed up with expert staff in Wychavon in a bid to co-ordinate efforts to reduce the figures.

The city’s figure has dropped about 50 per cent in a year, although hotspot areas still exist in Woodgreen Drive in Warndon Villages and Offerton Lane in Hindlip.

Councillor Roger Knight, Worcester City Council cabinet member for cleaner and greener, said: “Fly tipping is socially unacceptable behaviour, and it’s disgraceful.”

In Malvern, a lot of the blame is being pinned on rogues who doorknock pensioners’ homes and offer to take items away for cash.

Instead of taking it to a rubbish tip they dump it wherever they can find a secluded patch of land.

A spokesman said: “The cold caller takes the money, drives into the countryside and dumps the rubbish.

“We could prosecute the house owner under the Environmental Protection Act, but the majority of the victims are elderly who have no idea they are committing an offence by employing these rogue traders.”

Coun Emma Stokes, of Wychavon District Council , said: “Because we’re in a rural location we get people come from a long way away, off the motorways just to dump stuff.”

Case study

FLY-tippers have struck in Worcester again, this time targeting a popular scenic bridleway.
A huge pile of wood, rags and even a beach windbreaker was deposited on a track leading off Oldbury Road last week.
Infuriated Dines Green resident Andrew Brown sent us this picture of the rubbish on the bridleway which leads to Crown East and serves as a route to Elgar Birthplace.
He said: “This is a often tipped location but this is one of the worst episodes I can remember
“Old people, people on Motability wheelchairs and many others just out for a stroll like this lane.
“It’s a quiet scenic route. The rubble is unsightly, in the way and a potential hazard to all concerned, especially if walking in the dark/at dusk as some dog walkers do.”
A spokesman for Malvern Hills District Council confirmed the latest mess was reported to them on Thursday, August 9, and officers visited the site this week with a view to cleaning it up as soon as possible.