17,000 fly-tipping incidents cost council £750,000 to clean up

A council had more than 17,000 fly-tipping incidents reported to it last year.

And clearing up the mess cost almost £750,000.

West Northamptonshire Council Council leader Councillor Jonathan Nunn said the total of 17,301 - which equates to about 47 incidents a day - was "a massive number".

"[It causes] huge costs, sadly that number is growing. There is a lot of work going on to deal with that problem", he told councillors at a cabinet meeting .

Across the county in North Northamptonshire, far fewer fly-tips were recorded. That authority said it had about 3,000 reported throughout 2022.

Both councils regularly report prosecutions of fly-tippers in their areas.

Last year, fly-tippers dumped 20 bags full of "stinking" rotting meat at the family estate where Princess Diana is buried.

The discovery sparked outrage from the estate's conservation manager, who said such incidents were becoming more common.

West Northamptonshire Council said it issued 3,092 fixed penalty notices for environmental crime through 2022/23.

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