THE district council has warned residents about the consequences of fly-tipping with this Friday (January 5) expected to be the worst day of the year for illegal dumping of unwanted goods and rubbish.

Waste clearance service Junk Hunters Ltd has warned that the first Friday of the New Year, known in the industry as Fly Tipping Friday, could see huge amounts of the illegal activity.

With households looking to discard Christmas waste and packaging, as well as the added confusion due to irregular bin collections – the temptation to fly-tip can be even greater.

But Malvern Hills District Council (MDC) has taken the opportunity to warn residents that it is the tax payer who suffers most and offenders will be prosecuted if caught in the act.

Cllr Bronwen Behan, portfolio holder for environment on MDC, said: “Fly-tipping costs the taxpayer and landowners money to deal with, inconveniences the public and in some cases can be dangerous.

“Residents can help us tackle fly-tipping by using a properly licensed trader, our bulky waste collection service or a Household Recycling Centre to dispose of their waste.

“If they don’t and their waste is later dumped, they could face a fine or court action.”

According to the latest government figures, from 2016-17 there were over a million fly-tipping incidents throughout England.

This led to a total clearance cost of over £57.5 million but offenders were also fined a total of nearly £723,000.

Cllr Behan went on to say: “On average, 22 incidents of fly-tipping a month are reported [in Malvern] and the council investigates all major reports and takes action where evidence can be found.”

He warned that residents should check the individual or company they are using has a proper waste carrier licence which can be done by visiting gov.uk/find-registered-waste-carrier.

Fly-tipping can be reported online by visiting malvernhills.gov.uk/report-it.