Help is needed from the public to tackle illegal tyre dumping

In the last 12 months there have been more than 2,600 incidents of fly tipping in Hull, most of which included discarded tyres.

To tackle the problem the Environment Agency has joined forces with Hull City Council in promoting a 'Tread Carefully' campaign, to assess the public's awareness of the environmental impact of illegal dumping.

Tony Grice, area environment manager for the Environment Agency, said they also wanted people to inform them of fly tipping incidents.

"We need the public to be our eyes and ears," he said.

"With their help we can start to rid our communities of the blight that is fly tipping."

Les Clark, the council's sustainable waste development manager, said the council would "actively pursue" any tip-offs from the public.

"We have to remove and pay for the disposal of thousands of tyres weighing about 100 tonnes each year and the practice must be stamped out," he said.

It is feared tyre dumping will get worse as a result of the EC Landfill Directive which already bans whole tyres from being sent to landfill sites, and by July 2006 will also ban shredded tyres.