As well as spending £50m a year clearing up waste that has been dumped, councils have to listen to a wide array of poor excuses from people trying to avoid penalties.
LGA environment spokesperson Cllr Peter Box said: ‘The excuses some fly-tippers give when caught are laughable but for councils this issue is deadly serious.
‘Councils are being forced to spend many millions on clearing up fly-tipping and taking enforcement action. At a time when councils have experienced substantial budget reductions, this is money which is being diverted from vital frontline services like caring for the elderly, and filling the nation’s potholes.’
‘Councils have a zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping