A FLYTIPPING crackdown using private wardens has seen Brighton and Hove City Council become the most prolific authority in the country for dishing out fines for the offence.

The council has issued 105 fixed penalty notices for flytipping between May and January – almost double any other council.

The fines total around £21,000 which is shared between the council and private partner 3GS.

The number is set to rise further as the authority tries new tactics in a bid to tackle flytippers dumping house and building waste next to communal bins and beauty spots.

The installation of CCTV cameras at flytipping hotspots has led to more than 20 fines of £300 issued to offenders.

The council’s Cityclean staff dressed in orange prisoner jumpsuits have been cordoning off flytipping incidents with mock police tape and are aiming to highlight 100 incidents.

Items discovered in recent days include electrical items dumped in Medina Villas, a shopping trolley in Sudeley Place and car tyres dumped in Ladies Mile Road.

One crew collected 14 tonnes of illegally dumped waste in one week, disposing of more than 2,600 flytipped items costs the council £88,000 annually.

The agreement with 3GS, which also targets littering, littering, flyposting, graffiti and dog fouling, launched in March.

Councillor Gill Mitchell, environment committee chairwoman, said: “It has got to the stage where illegal flytipping has become normal among otherwise law-abiding residents.

“People think it’s the done thing to put stuff into the street, leave things out for others to help themselves or dump large items alongside communal bins or recycling sites.”

The figures were obtained by retailer Furniture Choice which has created an online tool of more than 800 furniture donation centres to encourage the recycling rather than dumping of unwanted furniture and white goods.

Director Tom Obbard said: “Fly-tipping causes a devastating impact on the environment and is expensive to clear, so it is a major concern that incidents are increasing in England.

“It is great to see that some councils are exercising their new legislative powers and issuing fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping.”