COUNCIL bosses are urging residents to shop their neighbour if they catch them dumping waste in any one of Halton's most prized beauty spots.
The renewed appeal to crack down on fly-tipping comes after a devastating 1,500 incidents were reported to Halton Borough Council last year, leaving taxpayers footing the cost of a £150,000 clean up bill.
The massive cash expenditure is to blame for crippling council resources, when money could be better spent on improving facilities and attracting increased investment in the area.
This year areas plagued by fly-tip-ping incidents include Runcorn's Town Park, Norton, Halton Village and Murdishaw Valley - but waste is also being dumped alongside derelict sites which act as a serious magnet for arsonists.
Now, plans are underway to employ a specialist law enforcement officer to work alongside park rangers in policing worst hit areas of the borough.
Paul Wright, the council's operational landscape manager, said he is determined to ensure fly-tippers suffer the full force of the law, after a number of successful prosecutions were made thanks to the efforts of Halton residents.
'By securing these prosecutions we are putting a message out to people to be careful where they dump their waste, and we are asking residents to come on board and help us in our fight,' he said.
'The problem of fly-tipping is costing the council a fortune, and this is all money that could be better spent elsewhere. People don't seem to realise that this is a problem that actually affects them directly, as landfill taxes go up according to the amount of waste produced.
'It's an unsightly mess more than anything, and it doesn't just cause damage to the environment, but it also means Halton loses out as people are put off from coming here.
'We are paying a lot of people to carry out clean up exercises, and it's mostly along country lanes and parks that we're getting the problems. It's amazing what we find, it's mostly building construction waste but it can also be settees, shopping trolleys and fridge freezers.
'Problems like fly-tipping have devastating effects on the borough and, although we've just got our third Green Flag award for our high standards in open spaces, behaviour like this just works to undermine our achievements.'
One of the first prosecutions secured by the council in June this year, was made against 32-year-old Colin Robson, of Bristol Avenue, in Murdishaw, Runcorn, who was caught by passers-by tipping cuttings from his conifer hedge on to a beauty spot in Murdishaw Valley. The Campbell brothers from Widnes were also sentenced and made examples of by the council following reports of illegal fly-tipping.
A number of measures are already in place to combat the issue, including a bulky item collection scheme set up to deal with the disposal of fridges, freezers and fridge/freezers at a charge of £12 for every item collected.
The council operates a neighbour-hood cleansing scheme and pro-active cleansing strategy based upon partnerships with businesses, and residents have already been given a helping hand with wheely bins distributed for household waste, and blue bags used for paper recycling.
Plans are also being considered around on-the spot fines that have already been introduced in Liverpool and the Wirral, which currently top the fly-tipping league.
