FLY-TIPPERS caught dumping rubbish illegally can be arrested and fined up to £50,000 under new powers granted to local authorities on Tuesday.
Councils today gained greater powers to tackle fly-tipping and litter, as the first raft of measures in the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act comes into force.
From now on fly-tipping will become an arrestable offence, with the most serious cases resulting in a maximum £50,000 fine or five years imprisonment.
Those caught illegally dumping waste will also no longer be able to use the defence of acting under employers instructions.
The new hard-line approach underpins the Government's commitment to tackle fly-tipping, as new figures showed that an incident is occurring every 35 seconds in the UK.
The Act also reminds people that chewing gum and cigarette butts are litter, with penalties accordingly.
Council chiefs in Bolton launched a crackdown on litter louts last year with wardens issuing on the spot fines.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article