Epidemic of f ly-tippers blighting Britain (cont)
ONCE, it would have ended up at the council tip – unsightly, but contained in the right place.
Now, as these pictures show, domestic rubbish, household appliances and builders’ waste are increasingly being dumped on residential streets or in previously idyllic beauty spots.
The images give an unedifying glimpse of the growing problem of fly-tipping.
In Lewisham, south London, the council has introduced tight restrictions on who can use its refuse and recycling facilities.
As a result, tradesmen are turned away after being told only residents can use the tip – and they are simply dumping tons of rubbish outside nearby houses.
The latest hotspot is a residential area in New Cross, south-east London, where tons of junk are being left inches from homes – or even leaning against the walls. Everything from old boilers and baths to soiled nappies has been left in the open.
Disgusted families who have to pick their way through the detritus say the reason is clear – Lewisham council has introduced strict rules saying only local residents can use the refuse centre a minute’s drive from the estate.
Drivers turned away from the centre, particularly those with commercial waste, are simply driving for 60 seconds and dumping junk for free.
There is an alternative tip in Thamesmead, seven miles away, which is open to commercial vehicles. But it seems the fly-tippers can’t be bothered to drive so far.
Engineer David Needham, 25, who bought his flat in New Cross last September, said: ‘I realised I was living in a tip … A lot of people cannot go to the Lewisham dump because of the rules and the weird opening hours.
‘People turn up and cannot get in and push it out of the back of their vans. There’s been dozens of fridge-freezers dumped. The problem is across the whole estate. There are huge sections where it just looks like people have emptied the back of their vans and driven off.’
Other pictures show a similar tale repeated across the country, amid reports fly-tipping has increased by 27 per cent over the past two years as numerous local authorities have made it more costly and complicated to dispose of rubbish.
In Brentwood, Essex, there are heaps of junk left by a farmhouse. Residents say old tyres are regu- larly tossed out of moving vehicles. In Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, up to 40 fridges were dumped in a car park in a single weekend.
In Wood Green, north London, a sofa bed and filing cabinet could be found among the refuse left beside an end-of-terrace house – a favourite spot for urban fly-tippers.
Builders’ rubble was thrown into 2,000-year- old Roman ditches in South Wales. The National Fly-Tip- ping Prevention Group has claimed the dumping of rubbish on private land costs more than £100million a year to investigate and clear up.
The cost falls on taxpayers and private landowners. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to £50,000 or 12 months’ imprisonment if convicted in a magistrates’ court.
In Crown Court, this rises to an unlimited fine or five years’ jail.
FLY-TIPPING EPIDEMIC From the Mail, April 23