A COUNCILLOR has called for tougher action to tackle the 'growing menace' of fly-tipping after household rubbish was dumped on a country lane in Moreton.

Pictures sent to the Globe show Saughall Massie & Moreton West Conservative Bruce Berry standing near a tip of cardboard, boxes and chairs that had been discarded alongside the footpath on Carr Lane.

Cllr Berry has contacted the council asking for the rubbish to be removed as soon as possible and to look for a long-term solution dealing with what he called the growing menace, including the use of CCTV and Automatic Number Plate Recognition system.

He said: "Fly-tipping is an ongoing problem throughout Wirral, costing the local authority hundreds of thousands of pounds of Council Taxpayers money every year to clean-up.

"Illegally dumped waste is not only an eyesore, but it can damage land, watercourses and be harmful to the public who come into contact with it."

Wirral Globe:

Cllr Berry (pictured, above) is appealing to the public to be on the lookout in this area which is well used by dog walkers, cyclists and joggers, and to alert him to anything they believe to be suspicious, such as vans, small tipper trucks anything that can carry this sort of waste.

He continued: "Fly tippers blight the environment and are the scourge of our communities.

"We need to catch the culprits and make sure that we prosecute companies and individuals who commit fly tipping offences until the message that we will not tolerate this enviro crime in Wirral is firmly understood".

Cllr Phillip Brightmore, Labour cabinet member for environment, said recently that tackling fly-tipping was an issue that is high on the council's agenda.

He told the Globe: "Fly-tipping absolutely does blight communities and affects quality of life for local people and it has to stop.

"This council always investigates incidents when they're reported to us and whenever there is sufficient evidence to identify an offender, we will always pursue them through the courts and ask for the most severe penalty possible.

"Within the last year, we have brought several prosecutions against fly-tippers that have resulted in offenders being handed custodial sentences.

"That's how seriously we take this issue.

"Officers are told to use all the investigatory powers at their disposal to gather the evidence needed to secure a positive outcome at court.

"When there is a successful conviction we make sure we publicise it in order to send a strong message to other potential offenders – 'think again before you fly-tip rubbish because the full weight of the law will come down upon you if caught'."