FARMERS and landholders are counting the cost of increased fly-tipping over the Bank Holiday weekend, the Northern arm of their representative organisation has warned

The Country Landowners Association North said that rural areas faced a surge in illegally dumped waste following public holidays.

It estimated that private landowners in the region, who are liable for the clean-up costs, spend on average £844 per incident.

According to a recent survey almost two-thirds of farmers and landowners have been affected by fly-tipping with most victims saying they are targeted around two to three times per month.

CLA President Ross Murray said: “Private landowners usually find a spike in incidents after every public holiday, during the May and August Bank Holidays it is often DIY rubbish, around Christmas there are more electrical and other household items.

“Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime. Private landowners are fed up of clearing away other people’s rubbish and paying for the privilege.”

The CLA North advocates seizing vehicles to act as a deterrent, enforcing fines for home and business owners whose waste is found in fly-tipped locations.

It also urges appointing a ‘Fly-Tipping Tsar’ to co-ordinate with national agencies on the scale of the crime as well as educating the public and working in partnership to help reduce waste crime through best practice.