As the lockdown continues and the county’s recycling centres remain closed, it seems fly-tipping is very much still an issue in Northampton.
When the tips closed, there were concerns that fly-tipping would increase as people spend more time at home but have nowhere to take big household items.
However, last week Northampton Borough Council said this was not the case.A spokesman for the council said: “If anything we’ve seen a bit of a reduction in fly-tipping which we’re putting down to social distancing measures.”
But when the Northampton Chronicle & Echo published this comment, a lot of readers were quick to point out particularly bad areas for fly-tipping around the town.
A spokeswoman for Northampton Borough Council has since added: "Our contractors and neighbourhood wardens work very hard to tackle fly-tipping reports across the town under current circumstances, and we are grateful to residents who report these incidents to us via our app, on our website or by email and phone, so we can target our resources, which are of course stretched at this time.
"We take all reports very seriously, every fly-tip is searched before clearing and where evidence allows, a fixed penalty notice of £400 issued.
"In some cases, offenders will be prosecuted and this can result in an unlimited fine or up to six months imprisonment."
From scaffolding in Bedford Road to mattresses in St James', all fly-tipping is illegal and any incidents should be reported to the council, which can be done via its website, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0300 330 7000.
Here is a round-up of some fly-tipping that is still evident in Northampton despite the lockdown.
Seen more fly-tipping incidents? Let us know where.
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