Crewe records 3,491 fly-tipping incidents in 12-month period

Crewe has seen more than 3,000 fly-tipping incidents in a 12-month period, and fines totalling thousands of pounds handed out.

Cheshire East Council recorded 4,428 episodes across the borough between March 2021 and March 2022.

In Crewe alone, there were 3,491.

But despite £3,000 in fines being issued in the town, a single person has not been prosecuted, the Local Democracy Reporting Service says.

Councillor Mick Warren said: "Securing prosecutions for fly-tipping is an extremely difficult task."

The chair of the Environment and Communities Committee added this was because "the burden of proof has to be of a criminal standard".

Fly-tipping can be investigated by the police if the report has details of a witness who might have evidence that could lead to an offender, or where there is a chance of finding identifying information within the fly-tipped waste, Mr Warren said.

Crewe Town Council has since received funding to trial the use of cameras in hotspots as a deterrent, with the equipment due to be implemented in the coming months.

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