IAN CLARKE If you are dumping rubbish illegally we could be watching you - and catching you on camera.That is the message to criminal fly-tippers from Breckland Council which is stepping up its get tough campaign by using covert surveillance cameras.

IAN CLARKE

If you are dumping rubbish illegally we could be watching you - and catching you on camera.

That is the message to criminal fly-tippers from Breckland Council which is stepping up its get tough campaign by using covert surveillance cameras.

The authority is targeting hot spots and will be using the cameras and threatening prosecution to catch offenders.

Six fixed penalty notices have already been issued and Breckland is also setting up a local scheme of community rangers to report problem areas.

The new cameras - which can be moved around, part-buried and concealed - are being brought in for places where other measures haven't proven successful, A spokesman said they can record people illegally dumping rubbish and their vehicle registration numbers.

She stressed the use of the cameras will be governed by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000, so will not infringe on people's privacy - but material could be passed on and used as evidence by the police. If prosecution is successful fly-tippers may be banned from driving and have their vehicles seized.

Ann Steward, executive member responsible for the environment, said: “We want to get the message across that fly-tipping is a criminal activity and we mean business. Lay-bys are becoming like landfill sites and clean up costs are running into thousands of pounds. These new cameras are the latest way we will be protecting our countryside and keeping the district rubbish-free for our law abiding residents.”