Reports of fly-tipping across South Holland nearly doubled in the last seven months, compared to the same period last year, new figures show.

Between April and October this year, a total of 706 fly-tips were reported in the area, with just 385 cases for the same seven months in 2019, an 83 per cent increase.

As a result, South Holland District Council paid out £41,403 over the same seven months to clear up dumped waste, compared to a bill of £27, 439 for the same period last year.

The near 51 per cent rise in the area's clean-up bill for fly-tipping led to a call for "enforcement powers with real teeth" to stamp out the crime.

Farmer Andrew Branton, who came across waste dumped off Cloot Drove, Crowland, last weekend, said: "Fly-tipping is a massive problem and it's everywhere if you drive on the quieter rural roads.

"I know it's an Environment Agency (EA) matter, or a district council matter, but I feel that falls massively short because they don't have the powers of arrest that the police have.

South Holland areas see fly-tipping incidents as household tip shuts

"All the EA and council do is chase their tail and clear up the aftermath."

Pete Boekestyn, part of the Fly-tipping Watch Spalding group on social media, said: "It’s a disgrace to blight our countryside with this wholesale dumping of rubbish.

"The counter-argument is that the tip isn't easily available, but I've never had a problem with it and it’s never a reason to just wantonly dump rubbish."

In responses to a request from the Lincolnshire Free Press to identify fly-tipping "hotspots" in South Holland, the group named areas of Spalding Marsh, Wykeham, Moulton Chapel, Moulton Marsh and Quadring Fen as common sites for dumped waste.

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Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones, who helped launch the SCRAP campaign in January urging people to only use licensed waste carriers, said: "Fly-tipping is a disgusting crime that creates very real damage to the communities affected.

"Often residents pick up the bill for the clean-up required after these selfish offenders dump their waste and that is unacceptable.

"Last year, I called a special summit to look at this problem and agencies across the county are now working together to tackle this appalling blight on our villages, towns and the countryside."

On Wednesday, the district council confirmed that a West Pinchbeck man had paid a £200 fine after a fly-tip in Surfleet had been traced back to him.

In a meeting of district council members on Wednesday, council leader Coun Gary Porter said: "We could probably run a campaign and proactively try to encourage more people to report incidents of fly-tipping when they actually happen, rather than after they happen.

"In terms of properly stamping it out, what we really do need are enforcement powers that have got some real teeth.

"The communities team did a good job the other day taking £200 pounds out of somebody's pocket, but I'd rather us have taken the car and crushed it on telly."

"We need to have real deterrents because small fines that are the price of one skip do not deter people from doing hundreds of fly-tips and most of what we're getting is commercial waste."

NFU Holland (Lincs) county adviser Danny O’Shea said: "It i’s disappointing, but not surprising, that reported fly-tipping is on the rise.

"The NFU believes around two thirds of all farmers suffer from some form of fly-tipping and, as lots of incidents on private land go unreported, the problem is likely to be much worse.

"We have heard of farmers building ditches and moats,constructing barricades and putting cameras up in rural areas to catch people.

"But it is really important that the public also look out for this – if you see anyone dumping rubbish then report it.

"Ultimately, it is all our responsibility that waste is being disposed of legally."

Nick Sandford, acting regional director for the Country Land and Business Association, said: "Fly-tipping is a menace to society at any time, but to hear of a rise in the crime when the country has been faced with such extreme challenges is nothing short of a disgrace.

"Those who commit fly-tipping offences have no respect for their communities, the countryside or the livelihoods of the landowners who have to pick up the bill to clear waste when it is dumped on private land.

"The sheer volume of fly-tipping incidents across the country is a clear indication that there is not an effective deterrent to stop people committing this crime.

"We need a joined-up approach to the tackling this issue between the police, local authorities and Environment Agency to ensure offenders are caught and dealt the toughest possible penalties."