ANGER is mounting over litter and fly-tipping after it was revealed in the region of £600,000 was spent to clear up waste in the past 12 months.

The alarming figure was confirmed by council leader Cllr Russ Bowden during last Tuesday’s leader’s forum at Birchwood Community High School.

Warrington Borough Council’s officers can only investigate or take action against anyone fly-tipping or littering on council land.

More than 4,000 fly-tipping incidents were reported to the authority in 2016, 2017 and 2018 combined.

But Cllr Bowden (LAB – Birchwood) is calling on residents to help the borough in its battle against those illegally dumping rubbish.

He labelled the money being spent to clear it up as a ‘waste of money’ and says it is a ‘big issue’.

He said: “People need to take responsibility for what they are doing and what you really need is for the community to work with the council.

“We need to give people in the community confidence that these people will be dealt with.

“But I never really want people to confront others, think about your own personal safety.”

Cllr Tony Higgins, executive board member for leisure and community, also raised serious concerns on the matter.

The Fairfield and Howley councillor added: “The cost of clearing up fly-tipping and litter is impacting on our community services.

“The difference £600,000 would make to the delivery of important initiatives is huge.

“Every pound we spend on cleaning up is a pound less spent on supporting our residents.

“Thankfully, I’m pleased to see many community groups actively supporting the Clean 19 campaign, which is helping to clean and tidy their areas.”

To report fly-tipping or littering, officers are reminding residents that they need as much detail as possible about the location of the waste.

Anyone who witnesses rubbish being dumped is urged to provide the date and time of the incident, a description of the people dumping the waste and, if a vehicle was involved, details about the vehicle.

To report fly-tipping in the borough visit warrington.gov.uk/flytipping.