FLY-tipping reached a record level in Bradford last year, figures show.

It’s a problem which blights the lives of those in the district, with readers often getting in touch to share their frustration about yet another mound of waste which has been dumped illegally.

Data from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows 18,001 fly-tipping incidents were reported to Bradford Council in 2020-21.

It marks a 12 per cent increase on the 16,128 discoveries made the year before, and the highest number since comparable records began in 2012-13.

Across England, a record 1.1 million incidents of rubbish dumped on highways and beauty spots were found in 2020-21, up from 980,000 the previous year.

But the number of court fines halved from 2,672 to just 1,313 – with their total value decreasing from £1.2 million to £440,000.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the “disgraceful behaviour” blights the countryside and warned that the true extent of fly-tipping across England is probably even higher than feared.

The CLA, which represents rural businesses, said the vast majority of fly-tipping occurs on private land, which the figures do not cover.

President Mark Tufnell said: “These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside.

“Fly-tipping continues to wreck the lives of many of us living and working in the countryside – and significant progress needs to be made to stop it.

“It’s not just the odd bin bag but large household items, from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and even asbestos being dumped across our countryside.”

Last year, plans to build a large fence to protect a major water supply from being contaminated from fly-tipping were approved.

Yorkshire Water revealed that a site in Oxenhope, Nab Water Lane, had suffered from repeated fly-tipping with items including sheep heads, 30 goose carcasses, soiled nappies and remains of a cannabis farm being dumped on the banks of the stream.

Water from the site feeds into the main supply of drinking water for Bradford, and the company said the tipping posed “a significant risk to the protection of Bradford’s public water supply.”

Bradford saw 33.2 fly-tipping incidents per 1,000 people last year – which was well above the average across England, of 20.1.

Household waste accounted for 12,205, or 68 per cent of incidents, last year, while 279 separate incidents were classed as large enough to fill a tipper lorry.

These cost the Council £60,660 to clear up.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, fly-tipping is a nationwide problem which has been increasing for many years. The issue blights communities and is upsetting to many residents so the council treats it very seriously. We investigate all reported incidents of fly-tipping and try to identify the criminals behind it. If sufficient evidence is gathered, we issue fines and prosecute the most serious cases through the courts. We also seize vehicles known to be involved.

“If rubbish is dumped on Bradford Council land we will clear it up as soon as we can.

“The authority is not responsible for removing rubbish from private land but we do help landowners with removal and prevention advice. If the problem persists, we have the power to compel landowners to remove waste from their land.”

The Government said the first national coronavirus lockdown impacted many local authorities’ recycling programmes, and that changes to household purchasing may also have driven the increased fly-tipping.

Resources and Waste Minister Jo Churchill said: “During the pandemic, local authorities faced an unprecedented challenge to keep rubbish collections running and civic amenity sites open, and the Government worked closely with them to maintain these critical public services.

“We have already given local authorities a range of powers to tackle fly-tipping and we are going further; strengthening powers to detect and prosecute waste criminals through the new Environment Act, consulting on introducing electronic waste tracking and reforming the licensing system.”