A LARGE-SCALE campaign to tackle waste crime in County Durham has seen a significant drop in flytipping.

Operation Stop It is Durham County Council’s biggest-ever crackdown on flytipping in partnership with Durham Police, Crimestoppers and the Environment Agency.

Thanks to public support and an extensive education programme, new performance figures have revealed a 29 per cent decrease in flytipping incidents in the county since the operation began in November 2014.

The aim is to educate households and businesses of their duty of care when it comes to throwing out their rubbish while taking action against those who flout the law.

Between November 2014 and April 2015 there were 3,470 incidents recorded, compared to the same period in 2013-14 when there 4,862.

It comes after the council successfully prosecuted a number of flytipping offenders in recent weeks.

Councillor Brian Stephens, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and local partnerships, said: “It is really encouraging to see that the number of flytipping incidents across the county has decreased since we launched Operation Stop It.

“This shows that the various education and enforcement activities we have carried out in that time is having a really positive impact.

“Our efforts as part of the campaign combined with several recent successful prosecutions against flytipping offenders demonstrate our continued commitment to tackling this issue.”

Environmental crimes, including flytipping, dog fouling and litter, can be reported at durham.gov.uk or by calling 03000-261000.

Unlicensed waste carriers can also be reported anonymously to Crimestoppers at crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800-555111.