Rubbish dumped illegally in Norfolk has cost councils more than £3.7m to clear over the past six years.
New government figures reveal the shocking scale of fly-tipping across Norfolk, with 90,000 incidents reported since 2012.
Most was left on highways, footpaths and back alleys, leaving council workers having to clear away vehicle parts, asbestos and dead animals.
Last year, there were more than 15,000 reports of waste being dumped illegally - the equivalent of 41 incidents every day.
The Borough of Great Yarmouth continues to be Norfolk's fly-tipping capital, costing the council £1.9m to clear-up between 2012/13 and 2016/17.
The borough has seen 38,689 incidents of fly-tipping since 2012.
North Norfolk has seen the fewest reports of illegal waste dumping, with just 2,459 incidents over the same six-year period.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), which has collected the data, said the figures exclude the majority of private-land incidents.
Nationally, local councils dealt with 998,000 fly-tipping incidents last year - a 1pc drop from 2016/17.
Councils in Norfolk also reported a decline from 2016/17, which saw 18,000 incidents - the highest amount over the past six years.
However, reports of waste being dumped illegally in Norfolk has increased by 4pc since 2012.
The Norfolk Waste Partnership, which is made up of the county's seven district and borough councils, said: 'Work is constantly being carried out across the county to address the issue of fly-tipping.
'Reports are investigated, fixed penalty notices are being issued and, where possible, perpetrators are prosecuted.
'Councils target fly-tipping 'hotspots' and continue to inform residents and businesses about the correct ways of disposing of their waste, including what can be taken to household waste recycling centres and what can be put in their home rubbish bins.'
The partnership said fly-tipping incidents this year had increased by 7pc compared to 2017/18.
Rubbish dumped in Norfolk includes asbestos, which has been fly-tipped 369 times since 2012/13.
The material was mostly dumped in South Norfolk - where the council reported 102 incidents during that period.
Where was it dumped?
There has been exactly 90,000 fly-tipping incidents reported by local authorities in Norfolk between 2012/13 and 2017/18. They were in:
• Great Yarmouth - 38,689
• Norwich - 22,199
• King's Lynn and West Norfolk - 11,368
• Breckland - 7,495
• South Norfolk - 4,940
• Broadland - 2,850
• North Norfolk 2,459.
The amount of rubbish dumped ranges from 'single black bag' incidents to 'significant/multi loads'.
Defra's figures show there were 318 significant loads fly-tipped across the county over the past six years.
Despite North Norfolk having the fewest reported fly-tipping incidents, it had the highest amount of significant/multi load incidents - 119 since 2012/13.
Only South Norfolk came close to that figure, with 95 reported in the same period, followed by Great Yarmouth, which had 29.
King's Lynn had the highest number of single black bag fly-tipping incidents, with 2,455 reported in six years.
Overall figures could be 'considerably' higher
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said the figures for our region are likely to be 'considerably higher' due to private land incidents not being recorded.
CLA regional surveyor Tim Woodward said: 'The new statistics present a mixed picture for our region but the reality is that fly-tipping incidents remain alarmingly high.
'Private landowners are liable for any waste dumped on their land and are fed up of clearing away other people's mess and paying for the privilege.
'It is vital that more prosecutions are brought forward successfully to encourage people to do the right thing and dispose of their rubbish through proper legal channels.
'But to really combat this crime we need to see tougher penalties which act as a true deterrent. 'Imposing and enforcing penalties which better reflect the seriousness of the crime, such as seizing vehicles used to fly-tip, is crucial.'
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