More than 7,600 incidents of fly-tipping have been reported in Stoke-on-Trent since the council launched a crackdown on illegal dumping last year.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council launched its Illegal Dumping In Our Towns (IDIOT) campaign in June 2023, pledging to clean up 1,000 'grot spots' and deploying extra cleansing staff, CCTV cameras and enforcement officers.

In the 16 months since then a total of 7,661 fly-tipping incidents have been reported to the council, compared to 4,161 in the previous 16 months – an 84 per cent increase. Council leaders have described this sharp rise as a 'win', saying that it shows that people in the city are now more willing to report incidents of illegally dumped waste.

The latest council figures show that it currently takes an average of 3.3 days for the authority to remove fly-tipped waste, down from 13.1 days in 2022/23. In addition to responding to incidents more quickly, the council has also increased the maximum fines issued to fly-tippers to £1,000, following a change in the law.

The latest council figures show that it currently takes an average of 3.3 days for the authority to remove fly-tipped waste (LDRS).

Councillor Amjid Wazir, cabinet member for city pride, enforcement and sustainability at the city council, said: "Our IDIOT campaign encouraged people to report illegal dumping and so an initial increase in reports is a win for our environmental crime team – allowing us to clean up the city and enforce where evidence is available. We have also made our system online to report fly tipping more accessible and carried out a lot of work to reduce fly tipping across the city. This includes putting up signage, utilising CCTV and our environmental crime officers have been doing amazing work to enforce and educate people.

"The message is clear – if you illegally dump waste in Stoke-on-Trent, be assured our team will find you and take action."

In the 12 months up to the end of October, a total of 5,667 incidents were reported to the council. These included 3,040 incidents described as 'single van loads', and 1,069 single items or bags. But there were also 324 incidents involving tipper lorry loads – almost one a day – and 161 described as 'significant or multiple loads'.

The data released in response to a Freedom of Information request does not include location details, meaning it is impossible to tell from the figures which are the worst affected areas of the city. The council says location data could be used to identify victims or perpetrators.

Tom Simpson, secretary of Sandyford and Goldenhill Residents' Association, says that the situation with fly-tipping has improved in his area recently.

He said: "It does still happen, but things are a bit better now. Hollywall Lane used to be a hot spot for fly-tipping, but there are CCTV cameras there now and I think that's acting as a deterrent. It also helps when the fly-tipping is cleared away as quickly as possible. Some people will see some dumped waste and think that it means it's OK to fly-tip there."

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