Fly-tippers fill Newport road with tyres and rubble

Rubble, wrecked furniture and hundreds of tyres were among items dumped by fly-tippers near Newport.

Fly-tipping in Coedkernew has been a problem for some time but it has become worse in recent weeks, it is claimed.

App ClearWaste said it had received an 88% increase in tipping reports in Wales since the coronavirus lockdown.

A Newport councillor said the closure of council tips was a factor but blamed "unscrupulous" fly-tippers taking advantage of "fewer eyes".

Councillor Allan Morris represents Liswerry Ward on the city council but lives in Coedkernew, near the fly-tipping hotspot nicknamed "the road to nowhere".

He believes the authority's waste sites would "ideally" be open, but could not criticise the council for wanting to protect staff.

"People are accumulating more rubbish because they are at home all the time," he explained.

"But unscrupulous people are taking advantage of sensible people staying home because there are fewer eyes on them dumping their unwanted goods."

Newport Council has been asked to comment.

Every year, tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish are ditched in Wales, which costs millions of pounds to clear.

Fly-Tipping Action Wales said there had been a rise in rubbish collection services advertised on social media.

But Mr Morris warned people to take extra precautions if they were paying for waste to be taken away.

"If people are paying people to take their stuff away, you should ask for photos of it at its final destination before you part with your money," he added.

Anyone using an unlicensed collector could be fined £300. Fly-tippers can be fined £50,000 or be jailed.

ClearWaste founder Martin Montague said fly-tipping was "disgusting" and said it "adds to the burden" on police and council officers at a time of national crisis.

In Scotland the rise was 83% and in Northern Ireland 67%. In some London boroughs reports had more than doubled.

A man in a different area of Newport claimed the problem had not got worse, but had not improved either.

Brian Miles, who represents Peterstone on Wentlooge community council, said it was because regular fly-tippers would not use council sites anyway, so the fact they were closed was irrelevant.

Mr Miles said rotten food, animal carcasses, boats and even caravans were regularly dumped in the area.

"We have got hundreds and hundreds of tonnes of waste dumped in the area - and it's not a new problem," he added.

The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), which represents local authorities, said councils had closed household waste sites in response to government guidance, but that it was "under constant review".

A spokesman said: "We understand that this is a very challenging time for everyone. However, fly tipping remains entirely unacceptable and is a criminal offence.

"We would urge everyone to act responsibly by storing any waste which isn't suitable for recycling or residual collection until normal service is resumed."

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We are aware of fly-tipping on the disused road in Coedkernew, near Newport and other locations around the Gwent levels.

"Officials have met with Newport council and other partner organisations to help establish responsibilities and to agree the development of an action plan to prevent further fly-tipping at the Coedkernew site."