FLY-TIPPING in Bolton has fallen by 40 per cent, according to Government figures.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) show a reduction in flytipping incidents in Bolton from 4,903 in 2014-2015 to 2,964 in 2015-2016.

Part of the drop is because the council no longer records flytipping incidents on Bolton at Home land, which recorded 1,004 incidents on their land in 2015-16.

But the reduction is also said to be due to education and enforcement action.

And between April 2016 and January 2017, the council collected 94 tonnes less than the same period in the previous year.

The figures also show an increase in the number of prosecutions brought by the council in this period, from eight in 2014-15, up to 13 in 2015-16. It gave out 138 fixed penalty notices which is over five times more than in the previous year.

Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Cllr Nick Peel, said: “Our investment in dedicated teams to educate people has been a huge success, and combined with our firm stance on enforcement we have seen a drop in flytipping across the borough and a rise in the number of fines and prosecutions of the anti-social people responsible.

“Residents should be in no-doubt that the council will always aim to prosecute the culprits.”