FLYTIPPING of dead animals across rural areas will increase with budget cuts, a leading councillor has warned.

Recent years have seen a number of animals, including horses and cows, dumped around villages close to Darlington.

The most recent incident was in March, when residents in Summerhouse found a dead cow dumped alongside a TV set and a box of rubbish.

At PACT (Police and Communities Together) meetings, residents have consistently urged the authorities to tackle the persistent problem of flytipping in rural communities.

However, Cllr Gerald Lee – ward representative for Heighington and Coniscliffe – says the issue is likely to be further compounded by Darlington Borough Council’s proposed budget cuts.

The authority is currently consulting on plans to reduce the amount of street cleaning across the borough to the statutory minimum while stopping environmental crime enforcement.

Worries over lost revenue from rents and business rates mean the authority will continue to prioritise the upkeep of the town centre and arterial roads.

However, investigations would no longer be carried out into environmental crime and no fixed penalty notices or court actions would be issued in relation to flytipping, abandoned vehicles, dog fouling, littering or graffiti.

The council expects a significant impact on the town’s appearance as well as an increase in environmental crime.

Cllr Lee believes rural areas will suffer disproportionately under the contentious proposals.

He said: “The flytipping of animals goes back years and flytipping in general is becoming a major problem that will get worse.

“These cuts will affect everyone but will affect the villages more as the council will use its skeleton staff to look after the town centre.

“The rural areas will be left to rely on good neighbours but the flytipping incidents we already have are horrendous.

“We’re not talking about a few bags of rubbish, we’re talking about animals and other large items – who will remove them?”

A council spokeswoman said the authority was aware of flytipping incidents in villages around Darlington.

She added: “Whenever flytipping is reported, we will remove it and where appropriate work with other agencies to trace the perpetrator.

“We can’t comment on the potential impact of any budget proposals as the consultation is still ongoing and no decisions will be made until after the 31 May deadline so all views can be considered.”

To comment on DBC budget proposals, visit darlington.gov.uk/microsites/budget-2016-home/your-say/.