COUNCIL chiefs have appealed for the public’s help in tackling fly tipping, after it emerged clearing up illegally dumped rubbish cost the region £3.3m last year.

More than 63,000 fly tipping incidents were recorded across the North-East and North Yorkshire, accounting for nearly nine per cent of the 711,000 national total.

Across England, the problem cost local authorities £36.4m in clearance costs alone.

A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which published the statistics, said: “Fly tipping is unacceptable.

“It is unsightly, causes pollution and costs taxpayers millions of pounds to clear up.

“It also undercuts the vast majority of waste businesses that comply with the law.

“We will continue to work closely with local authorities, the Environment Agency and others to crack down on illegal dumping.”

The biggest spending council in this region was Sunderland, where dealing with more than 15,000 fly tipping incidents cost nearly £850,000.

Councillor James Blackburn, the council’s portfolio holder for city services, said it appeared different councils may be recording fly tipping in different ways but Sunderland took a very pro-active approach to addressing the problem, encouraging people to report it and recording every incident.

Newcastle was the second biggest spender, forking out more than £550,000 to deal with more than 11,000 incidents.

Craven, in North Yorkshire, had the fewest incidents (86) and the smallest cost (£3,178).

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said the council had seen a continued reduction in fly tipping over the last four years but urged residents to report any incidents.

He added: “We continue to take fly tipping very seriously and work extremely hard to combat it using a range of tactics, including placing warning signs and cameras in hot spot areas.”

Across England, more than two thirds of fly tipping is of household waste and nearly half is dumped on roads.

The good news is that the overall number of incidents dropped by four per cent from 2011-12 and the cost of clearance fell by three per cent.

However, fly tipping on footpaths, bridleways and alleys is on the rise, up by ten per cent – meaning it now accounts for a fifth of all incidents.

Key: Fly tipping incidents in 2012-13 by council, cost 
Durham 6,421, £344,176
Darlington 2,340, £148,656
Northumberland 1,515, £83,566
Newcastle 11,160, £561,849
Gateshead 5,035, £234,280
North Tyneside 1,137, £59,957
South Tyneside 5,738, £359,817
Sunderland 15,730, £849,018
Hartlepool 969, £68,801
Stockton 2,081, £145,643
Middlesbrough 2,198, £99,398.50
Redcar and Cleveland 2,424, £181,483
Craven 86, £3,178
Hambleton 184, £14,068
Harrogate 349, £20,259
Richmondshire 126, £7,211
Ryedale 74, £3,692
Scarborough 3,939, £66,420
Selby 482, £28,632
York 1,034, £53,295