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Council chiefs have urged residents to provide intelligence to help continue to crackdown on fly tipping in Hartlepool after recent figures showed a drop in reports.

Hartlepool Borough Council figures stated that in 2022-23 they responded to 1,115 fly-tipping reports, down from the 2,020 recorded in 2021/22.

Officers said the drop may be linked to the work of the multi-agency fly-tipping prevention group which has been tasked with tackling this issue.

Yet they also acknowledged the decrease could be in part due to a change in the system in how reported incidents are responded to by the local authority’s civil enforcement team.

Fly tipping at the rear of West View Road, in Hartlepool, earlier this year. Picture by FRANK REID.

This allows them to focus on sites where they may be able to take action.

Figures which went before the latest meeting of the neighbourhood services committee noted there had been 13 fixed penalty notices issued in 2022-23, down from 35 in 2021-22.

Sylvia Pinkney, council assistant director for regulatory services, stressed further action is being taken to help catch and punish the culprits of fly tipping.

She added: “As we stand at this point in time we have taken a number of prosecutions and we have some still in the pipeline.”

Council chiefs at the meeting also urged residents to report any intelligence they have which could help the local authority catch fly-tippers, noting they do have mobile CCTV cameras they can use where needed.

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Tony Hanson, executive director of development, neighbourhoods and regulatory services, said: “Fly tipping relies heavily on intelligence, we need the public to come forward to give us that input.

“These are things which potentially could be a significant amount of say tyres or black bags, they take a few minutes to get out or place off the back of a vehicle.

“That intel has to be brought back to the team for us to be able to take the action, if we don’t get told, we don’t know, and it’s very difficult for us as officers to be able to address it.”

It comes after a full council meeting in March heard blocking off access to fly-tipping hot spots, increased use of CCTV coverage and awareness campaigns have all been steps taken to address fly tipping.

Residents can report fly-tipping at http://hartlepool.gov.uk/fly-tipping or by calling (01429) 523333.

'We still have some in the pipeline' say Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs after fly-tipping prosecutions fall