NO-ONE can ignore fly-tipping these days – it’s literally a crime that lands on your own doorstep.

Although newly updated figures by Bolton Council show a 30 per cent drop in incidents of this very anti-social behaviour over the past year, it doesn’t feel like it.

Part of the reason is that the reduction goes from 2,964 incidents in 2015/16 to 2,065 in 2016/17 so it’s still a very large number of occasions when someone has dumped rubbish. And partly because, quite often, the rubbish is dumped in conspicuous places so we see more of it.

As well as those who dump rubbish on an industrial scale in country lanes and spare land, there are certainly far more carrier bags of rubbish left at bus-stops.

Bolton Council is plainly doing its best in many ways to crack down on fly-tippers with fines. But the scale of the problem goes far beyond residents simply leaving piles of rubbish, or even unwanted mattresses and bags of waste in back streets behind their homes. Fly-tipping is now an organised crime.

All of which is why the latest Government plan to deal with such criminals could be very welcome.

Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom says new Government proposals would mean those committing such crimes would be forced to help local authorities pick up litter.

Now, while not wanting to see any Council jobs threatened by this initiative, it seems to me like a very good idea. Of course, I’d like to see it alongside such criminals also losing their vehicles to prevent any recurrence, but making individuals pick up litter – and it being obvious that they are doing this as part of community service – hits people where it hurts: in their pride.

Anyone who dumps rubbish like this not only has no respect for the law but also none for local communities and the people who live there. What they do have in abundance is a terrible arrogance where they believe they are above “ordinary” conventions and rules. In other words, they think they are something quite special.

By making them publicly show that they aren’t is an excellent way of deflating pride and, just perhaps, driving home the message that fly-tipping is a crime against everybody.

And, don’t forget, if you employ a Man and Van to clear your rubbish without checking where it’s being dumped, the problem could easily come back to your door.