‘Totally unacceptable’: Council blasts fly-tippers after three fires at hotspot area in Northampton during hottest summer on record

Fly-tipping has become a hot topic in recent years with West Northants Council (WNC) battling to tackle the ongoing issue across the authority and residents fed up of seeing piles of rubbish in their neighbourhoods.

One particular fly-tipping hotspot area in Sixfields was targeted three times by suspected arsonists during the summer with firefighters called to Walter Tull Way – opposite the tip – three times in just over a week.

WNC has said it’s unacceptable and that it is top priority to tackle the blight on communities across West Northants.

Fire crews were first called to a huge blaze on scrubland on the evening of Sunday August 16 when a vast amount of fly-tipped rubbish sitting between bushes and hedgerows went up in flames.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), who spent hours tackling the flames during one of the busiest ever summer’s on record, said the fire was believed to have been ignited deliberately.

Firefighters were then called to the same spot again – this time twice in just two days after fires broke out – both of which were started deliberately, according to investigators.

The first 999 call came in at 9.30pm on Sunday, August 23, with crews on arrival finding a large pile of tyres and wheels on fire.

The second fire started at around 4.10pm on Monday, August 24 – this time firefighters finding the buses and fly-tipped rubbish once again on fire.

The Chron asked West Northants Council what can be done about privately-owned sites such as this which are repeatedly targeted by fly-tippers.

A WNC spokesman said: “Fly tipping is totally unacceptable, a huge problem for all councils and we fully understand the impact it has on our residents. Tackling this blight in our community is a priority for us and we work closely with our contractor to remove it from our land as quickly as we can.

“Landowners are responsible for clearing fly-tipping on private land.

“With sufficient evidence we will always take action against offenders, who can face heavy fines or taken to court. We use a range of methods to investigate, including camera surveillance, but we won’t discuss specific locations as this could affect ongoing investigations.

“Residents can play a crucial part in helping us bring offenders to justice by sharing with us any footage from doorbell cameras, CCTV or dashcams that might help identify them. If they see fly tipping they are urged to report it to us via our app, website or by calling us so we can take swift action.

“We take a multi-team approach to encourage residents to have pride in their local area and ensure they know how to dispose of their waste responsibly by taking it to a household waste recycling centre, via our bulky waste service or by using a licensed waste carrier.”

WNC has been approached again to clarify who the landowner is.