Van used for fly-tipping crushed, says council

A van used for fly-tipping has been seized and crushed, the council said.

City of Wolverhampton Council said the van had been used in an incident last July, where building materials were dumped in the Whitmore Reans neighbourhood.

The council added that its officers had seized the vehicle this year, and its registered keeper had failed to claim it or pay a fine.

"Fly-tipping costs Wolverhampton taxpayers around £300,000 a year and we will not tolerate it," councillor Bhupinder Gakhal said in a statement.

He added that "this isn't the first time that we have used our powers to crush a vehicle used for fly-tipping" and "we will not hesitate to do it again if such selfish and criminal acts continue".

In England, local authorities lead on investigating and clearing small-scale fly-tipping, as well as enforcing any penalties.

The Environment Agency investigates some incidents that are on a large scale or carried out by organised gangs.

Wolverhampton's council said the fly-tipping incident involving the van had been filmed by a resident and evidence had been submitted.

It added that the waste had been dumped on land belonging to Wolverhampton Homes, a not-for-profit organisation that manages most of the city's council homes.

The council said its environmental crime team located the van, which was not seen at the registered keeper's address, in a different part of the city in February.

Further investigations into the fly-tipping incident were still ongoing, it said.

Wolverhampton's council increased the maximum fine for fly-tippers from £400 to £1,000 earlier this year, in line with many other local authorities.

It has also started using a drone to scan areas prone to fly-tipping.

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