'˜Flytipping is on industrial scale' is making life a misery for residents

Slap in the face: Coun Martyn Ward with dumped rubbish at Harewood Lane in Upton.

Coun Martyn Ward said people were dumping household objects around Sheepwalk Lane, Quarry Lane, Harewood Lane and Upton Country Park, before “doing a runner” leaving the council to deal with the mess.

Labour councillor resigns after motion to oust council leaderHe said: “It’s as bad as it’s ever been. It’s a slap in the face and it’s really disappointing.

“We’re seeing furniture, couches, beds, tables, bedding clothing, household goods, general litter, food wrappers, plastic bottles, you name it. It’s really a major thing.

“People who are paying for a ‘man with a van’ to help them get rid of rubbish need to check they have a proper licence because if there is anything dumped illegally that can be traced back to them then they are liable for prosecution as well.

“We are looking at covert CCTV to catch people. It’s not tolerable, it has gone way beyond that.

“It is costing us all a lot of money, hundreds of thousands across the district, and it is not right.”

In May the Express reported there had been almost 4,000 complaints about fly-tipping made to Wakefield Council last year at a cost of £200,000 to the taxpayer.

Councillors have claimed that fly-tippers are receiving “miniscule” and “pathetic” fines from courts, which do not stop people from dumping waste illegally. Council workers tasked with cleaning up the rubbish are frustrated by some of the punishments handed out to fly-tippers, Wakefield’s Streetscene director said.

Man to be detained in secure hospital for killing his mother with hammerGlynn Humphries said that the local authority was trying to work with magistrates on the issue.

Government guidance says that magistrates can issue fines of up to £50,000 or a prison sentence of 12 months for the offence.

But speaking about the issue at an environmental scrutiny committee last week, Wakefield West councillor Hilary Mitchell said: “If you get caught, and that’s a big ‘if’, you only get a fine of about £500. It’s pathetic. It’s not big enough.

“The chance of being caught is so slight that it is a chance worth taking.

“The fines should be in the thousands.”