A ROW has broken out over littering and fly-tipping enforcement in the Newport area.

Citing local authority figures that show there have been no successful prosecutions of fly-tippers since 2017, Conservative Party activist Michael Enea said the situation was "totally unacceptable".

Despite acknowledging the difficulties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Enea said: "You do get the impression the council have just given up."

But Newport City Council has defended its work.

"Much work is being done by council officers to prevent fly-tipping and street littering from happening, and there are several ongoing projects with different partners to this end," a council spokesman said. "To suggest we have given up belittles the hard work of both our waste and enforcement teams during this testing period."

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Figures show the council has successfully prosecuted four fly-tippers since January 2015, but none this year (to June 30); as well as 27 street-litterers since 2015, including three this year.

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The council said such enforcement action "can only be based on strong evidence that allows for the offender to be identified".

It has carried out 3,400 fly-tipping investigations since last April, the spokesman added.

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The figures obtained by Mr Enea show the council has had more success with handing out fines to offenders – a more straightforward form of enforcement.

Since January 2015, the council has fined 410 fly-tippers, including nine this year (to June 30). The council has also fined 2,491 street-litterers in the same period, including 20 this year (to June 30).

Cllr Matthew Evans said he had received "numerous complaints" of such offences during lockdown and it was "extremely disappointing to see no action taken".

But the council reminded residents "it is their responsibility to ensure they dispose of their waste correctly".