BURY Council chiefs have reaffirmed their commitment to tackling fly-tipping in Bury after figures revealed they spent more than £200,000 clearing up such incidents last year.

Government statistics show that there were 3,337 fly-tipping incidents in the borough during 2016/17, costing the council £217,476 to clear.

That figure is lower than in 2015/16 when there were 3,853 incidents, costing the council £169,902.

While in 2014/15, there were 3,061 fly tipping incidents, at a cost of £135,680 to the council.

A council spokesperson said: “Fly-tipping is disgraceful and is carried out by people who couldn’t care less about our environment or the blight that local people have to put up with.

“These figures show just how much local taxpayers are having to pay to clear up after these irresponsible people.

“Residents and businesses have a duty of care to make sure they dispose of their waste lawfully and don’t use unlicensed waste carriers. Those who do are breaking the law and could end up with a criminal record.

“We appeal to anyone who witnesses fly-tipping to report it to us, with as much information as possible, via our website at www.bury.gov.uk/flytipping."