MEASURES to prevent illegal fly-tipping have been slammed by traders, who claim the move is just another way to collect 'back door tax.'

Traders in Waterfoot hit out at DEFRA'S new guidelines that rule all waste disposed of by business owners must be accompanied by a certificate of proof, showing how the waste was disposed.

Responsible business owners, who pay £30 a month on top of their rates to have their rubbish taken away by the local authority, feel they are being driven out of the Rossendale Valley by bureaucratic red tape and excessive charges.

Rossendale greengrocer Steve Taylor, who owns Steve's Greengrocers in Waterfoot, said he was horrified to find out that strict new guidelines had been imposed.

He said: "This is ridiculous. It's just another way of the Government gaining back door tax. I pay my rates like all the other businesses in this area but I am not even entitled to a bin.

"With all the strict rules and regulations, shops are gradually going to be forced out. Stacksteads is a ghost town because of all these little by-laws that are making everything that much harder."

Mr Taylor added: "I recycle most of the vegetable and fruit cardboard boxes and on occasions I take them to be burnt at old people's homes, which has been perfectly acceptable up until now.

"I can't see the managers of an old people's home wanting to hand out certificates for doing this. It's just going to create problems all round.

"I agree that the problem of fly-tipping needs to be addressed but this is not the way to go about it.

"People who fly-tip should be hit in the pocket with fines or something like that, rather than everybody else having to suffer."

Owner of Tim's Chippy Tim Stannard, agreed. He said: "This is another tax because we pay our rates and this charge is added on top of that."