FLY-tipped waste was discovered thousands of times in Wirral last year, new figures show.

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy said the high level of fly-tipping seen across England is a "tragedy" to the environment and to communities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures reveal there were 3,820 fly-tipping incidents in Wirral in the year to March 2022 – though this was down from 4,835 the year before.

A significant amount of fly-tipping in the area last year was discovered on highways (37%) and on back alleyways (36%).

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste (39%) followed by household black bin bags (20%).

The data also shows £362,130 was paid by councils on removing large incidents of fly-tipping in Wirral.

Across England, 1.09 million fly-tipping incidents were recorded in 2021-22– a decrease of 4% from the 1.14 million reported in 2020-21. The cost of clearance to local authorities was £10.7 million last year.

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Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive, said: "A million plus fly-tipping incidents is a tragedy for the environment and communities and illustrates just how little people understand about the impact their unwanted ‘stuff’ can have."

Ms Ogden-Newton added there must be a concerted effort to educate the public about their role in solving the problem.

She added: "We need immediate and tough enforcement that targets the rogue traders who are making a fortune by breaking the law, raking in the cash and wrecking our environment."

The Defra figures show about 91,000 fixed penalty notices were issued across England in 2021-22, an increase of 58% from 2020-21.

And the number of court fines nearly tripled from just 621 in 2021-21 to 1,798 last year.

The value of all fines was £840,000 in 2021-22, more than doubling the £330,000 from the year before.

'Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime'

Cllr Liz Grey, Chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee for Wirral Council, said: "Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime, it is one we take very seriously due to the impact it has on people’s quality of life and the cost in environmental as well as financial terms.

"I encourage residents to report all incidents of fly-tipping to the council at the earliest opportunity. Reports are logged and Environmental Enforcement Officers will follow-up with an inspection seeking evidence linking it to an offender. They will always seek to prosecute anyone who fly tips.

"Reports are also passed over immediately to Wirral’s street cleansing contractor, Biffa, to remove the waste according to priority."