Figures reveal there were more than 900 cases of fly-tipping in Bolton the last year.

Environment boss Hilary Fairclough blasted offenders warning them they would be tracked down and fined – as she backed The Bolton News’ war on fly-tipping.

Since the launch of our We Love Bolton campaign at the start of the year Bolton Council has introduced tougher penalties for fly-tippers – and there has been a huge surge in volunteer groups helping to clean up our town.

In a stark message to rogue traders Cllr Fairclough said: “You are ruining our town, a town you should be proud of. You are destroying the environment , but the message is clear — fly- tippers who are caught will be prosecuted."

“I am hugely supportive of The Bolton News’ campaign. Campaigns like this raise awareness, make people think and certainly always bring improvement and I congratulate The Bolton News on this.”

Close to 1,000 cases of fly-tipping were recorded in the borough in just 12 months — with most of the rubbish being dumped in back streets.

Bolton Council was forced to clean-up 935 grot spots — an average of two a day — in the year up to March 2020 caused by residents refusing to dispose of their rubbish responsibly.

The number of incidents recorded has fallen year-on-year, and this is said to be partly due to the community litter-picking teams who give up their time to clear-up after others.

Figures released by the Government show there were 358 incidents of fly-tipping in the back alleys. Nationally fly-tipping during the same period was up by two per cent.

In Bolton, recorded fly-tipping incidents are down from 2,065 in 2016/18 – but town hall chiefs are warning they will take strong action against those caught fly-tipping.

It cost the council more than £20,000 to clean-up reported dumps in the last 12 months – while fines issued totalled £21,536.

Cllr Fairclough added: “I think much of our success is down to the absolute sterling work the litter pickers do to often identify and deal with fly tipping, our council workers work really hard to remove it quickly and identify those responsible, and if we find evidence we do not hesitate to prosecute.

“Bolton is a wonderful town one I am very proud to be part of and it’s truly fabulous to see people taking pride in their area.”

She said that a cleaner green environment was "hugely important".

Cllr Fairclough said: "It shows pride in our town. It helps with mental health and puts spring in people's steps I am confident the message is getting thorough, but we still have a long way to go.”

A breakdown of the figures shows that the council dealt with 133 incidents of fly tipping on the highways, the same number on footpaths, 230 incidents involving black bags being dumped.

And the council has recently passed new powers and introduced tough penalties for dropping rubbish.