Don't get dumped on (From Western Telegraph)

Don't get dumped on

6:34pm Monday 19th March 2007 in

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Council tax payers are footing the bill for one of the greatest scourges of the Pembrokeshire countryside.

For the past five years the county council has responded to between 80 and 100 reports of fly-tipping every month.

And those call-outs have cost the council tax payer tens of thousands of pounds.

But it is no longer the odd mattress and fridge being dumped by lazy householders. Mounds of building and gardening waste have been appearing in laybys too.

Farmer Diane Clements was incensed to discover a large pile of asbestos roofing dumped at a woodland beauty spot.

"I really think that everyone who pays council tax should feel cheated by the selfish act of these individuals as we all have to pay for the council to clear this mess up and I'm sure there are other more worthwhile things they should be spending our money on," said Diane, of Broomhill Farm, Martletwy.

The county council says there has been no increase in fly-tipping since landfill charges were introduced, although farmers could be bearing the brunt of this.

Farmers have been reporting a big increase in fly-tipping and because land is privately-owned, they have to pick up the bill to clear it up.

Simon Hart, the Narberth-based chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said more than half of land managers experience at least one fly-tipping incident a year and each incident costs £1,000 to deal with.

"It can't be right for private individuals to have the cost and the hassle of tackling this scourge,'" he said.

"Fly-tipping is a crime committed by a diverse range of people," he said, adding: "At one extreme there are serious criminals, at the other there are a large number of people who just don't believe it's wrong to unload a car full of rubbish on the side of a quiet country lane."

The county council says it wants the public to be the solution, by reporting tipping. It urged people to report fly-tipping by telephoning its service line on 0845 602 1386.