FLY-tipping in Dudley fell last year as council enforcement officers issued more than £7,000 in fixed penalty notices to offenders, a report has revealed.

Instances of illegally dumping of waste dropped from 1,069 during 2016-17 to 832 in 2017-18 – a 20 per cent fall.

The decline comes as councils across the country report increased levels of fly-tipping with over a million cases being recorded.

The decrease in Dudley has meant the amount the borough spends cleaning up after offenders has fallen to £56,020 from £63,295 in the previous 12 months.

The drop has been helped by council officers identifying hotspots where preventative measures such as CCTV and follow up investigations have seen significant falls in reported numbers.

Alan Lunt, strategic director for the borough, says in the report: “One notable success is Mears Coppice where constant tipping was estimated as costing the council approximately £8,000 per annum to clear.

“Following consultation between the council and local residents further traffic restrictions were put in place.

“Since the implementation of these measures in September 2017, the area has only seen three small single bag deposits of rubbish which were clearly left by persons on foot which were removed at a minimal cost to the council.”

Flt-tippers can be fined up to £50,000 or sentenced to 12 months in prison by a magistrates court but during 2016 only 1,602 prosecutions took place nationally.

Councillors will discuss the report at their meeting on Tuesday (September 18).