A SOUTH West Countryside organisation has given its backing to a Christmas crackdown on fly-tipping by local authorities.

However the Country, Land and Business Association (CLA) in the South West is calling on the authorities to make a collective New Year’s resolution to continue the zero-tolerance approach throughout next year.

The Local Government Association backed councils to issue fixed penalty notices of up to £400 and seize and destroy vehicles used by offenders as part of a ‘zero-tolerance’ nationwide initiative. The news comes as the cost of clearing up fly-tipping in England has hit nearly £50 million, with councils having to deal with almost 900,000 incidents every 12 months.

CLA South West director, John Mortimer, said: “With the high cost of disposing of commercial waste and increasing pressure on local authority budgets this problem is only likely to get worse.

“The waste involved is not just the occasional bin bag, but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, and building materials – even hazardous waste.

“The estimated average cost to rural businesses of this anti-social behaviour is £800 per incident and it is a continuing and damaging blight on our countryside.

Mr Mortimer said that the crackdown should not just be for the Christmas period, but continue throughout 2017.

“This will not only ease the pressure on the public purse, but also on demoralised farmers and landowners who are simply fed up with clearing up somebody else’s waste at their own expense,” he said.

“In the long run we need to achieve a culture where littering generally, and fly-tipping in particular, is socially unacceptable. We cannot keep expecting private landowners to pick up the litter and then pick up the bill,” said Mr Mortimer.