Despite thousands of incidents of fly-tipping being reported in Blackburn with Darwen and Burnley last year, new figures show that illegal dumping has actually decreased across both boroughs.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs figures reveal there were 4,383 fly-tipping incidents in Blackburn with Darwen in the year to March 2022 – though this was down from 6,509 the year before.

A significant amount of fly-tipping in the area last year was discovered on back alleyways (64 per cent) and on footpaths and bridleways (13 per cent).

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste (47 per cent) followed by household black bin bags (42 per cent).

The data also shows £6,900 was paid by councils on removing large incidents of fly-tipping in Blackburn with Darwen.

Blackburn with Darwen’s environment boss, Jim Smith, said: “While things are improving we clearly still have a problem with some people who do not respect their neighbours.

“I would warn people as well, if you are getting someone to remove your rubbish and they are not licenced and then they dump it elsewhere in he borough, you are liable for that rubbish.”

In Burnley 2,609 fly-tipping incidents were recorded in the year to March 2022 – though this was down from 3,147 the year before.

Like in Blackburn, significant amounts of fly-tipping was discovered on back alleyways (56 per cent) and on footpaths and bridleways (17 per cent).

Of the discarded waste, the largest proportion was household waste (44 per cent) followed by household black bin bags (23 per cent).

Councillor Shah Hussain, environment boss at Burnley Council said: “We are really working hard to get rid of the scourge of fly-tipping. We have found though that it’s people doing it purposefully and from our point of view we are putting additional resources in place to tackle that issue.

“Through things like education and information we are telling people that dumping waste is not acceptable and fines will be issued and we will prosecute.

“We have high figures in terms of going after and prosecuting people and we are doing our job but people need to change their behaviours too.

“We are also asking residents to get in touch and provide us with information if they know about anyone dumping rubbish in Burnley.”

Tony Watson, Head of Environment at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: “Fly-tipping harms our environment, spoils our streets and causes big problems for our dedicated teams of people who work so hard to keep the borough tidy.

“It is great to see the numbers of fly tipping incidents falling and the number of fines handed out shows that we are serious about this in Blackburn with Darwen. If you are caught fly tipping you will be fined or prosecuted.”

Across England, 1.09 million fly-tipping incidents were recorded in 2021-22– a decrease of four per cent from the 1.14 million reported in 2020-21. The cost of clearance to local authorities was £10.7 million last year.

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy said the high level of fly-tipping seen across England is a "tragedy" to the environment and to communities.

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, Keep Britain Tidy chief executive, said: “A million plus fly-tipping incidents is a tragedy for the environment and communities and illustrates just how little people understand about the impact their unwanted ‘stuff’ can have."

Ms Ogden-Newton added there must be a concerted effort to educate the public about their role in solving the problem.

“We need immediate and tough enforcement that targets the rogue traders who are making a fortune by breaking the law, raking in the cash and wrecking our environment," she added.

The Defra figures show about 91,000 fixed penalty notices were issued across England in 2021-22, an increase of 58 per cent from 2020-21.

And the number of court fines nearly tripled from just 621 in 2021-21 to 1,798 last year.

The value of all fines was £840,000 in 2021-22, more than doubling the £330,000 from the year before.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 428 fixed penalty notices were issued last year, up from 146 in 2020-21. And 99 fines were issued by courts in the year to March – a rise from 45 the year prior. The total value of fines was £36,964.

Yet in Burnley, just 98 fixed penalty notices were issued last year, down from 112 in 2020-21. And three fines were issued by courts in the year to March – a rise from one the year prior. The total value of fines was £473.

David Renard, environment spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said fly-tipping is not just an eyesore for residents, but a serious environmental and public health risk.

Mr Renard added: “Councils are working tirelessly to counter the thousands of incidents every year and are determined to crack down on the problem, so it is good to see that the number of enforcement actions has increased.

“However, penalties handed down from prosecution fail to match the severity of the offence committed. We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent."