Ref. 25320-53THE Environment Agency has warned it is after fly-tippers who dump rubbish at beauty spots around Swindon.

The agency also is concerned illegal dumping may rise as costs for the disposal of hazardous waste increase.

The organisation, which aims to protect and improve the environment in England and Wales will be monitoring areas of the Ridgeway path, south west of Swindon where fly-tipping is a regular occurrence, particularly near the villages of Foxhill and Badbury where large vehicles can easily gain access to the path.

Its officers will be patrolling the Ridgeway during the summer, when fly-tipping is known to increase. There will also be hidden CCTV cameras to catch offenders.

Items ranging from the contents of a shop, a home kidney dialysis machine and 20 tonnes of offal have had to be cleared from the Ridgeway over the past few years.

On Friday Roger Trimmer, 56, of Covingham, was fined more than £18,000 after allowing the drivers of three tipper lorries to dump 60 tonnes of construction waste and rubble on a site near the Ridgeway path. He was caught by hidden cameras installed less than a month before.

In February, David Ham, 27, of Eastleaze, in Swindon, was charged with two offences under the Environmental Protection Act after he allowed the possessions of a woman who had died to be dumped in a garden in Purton.

The Environment Agency's warning comes months before the onset of new rules controlling how hazardous waste is managed.

The new rules, the first of which is due to become law on July 16 will mean hazardous waste cannot be buried with other rubbish at landfill sites, but will have to be stored at designated sites.

It means there will be fewer tips able to accept the waste.

There will also be new rules regarding the treatment of hazardous waste prior to the disposal.

The rules are designed to strengthen environmental protection at landfill sites and reduce the amount of waste put into those sites.

Environment Agency chief executive Barbara Young said: "Many businesses are unaware they have a legal duty of care to ensure that they pass their waste on to a legitimate waste carrier and could end up in the dock themselves if their waste is fly-tipped by unscrupulous criminals."

Rural areas north east of Swindon are also being monitored by Swindon Services, the services arm of Swindon Council.

Geoff Davis, the team leader for waste management said: "We support the new Environment Agency warnings."

The public can assist the agency in combating environmental offenders by reporting them to the agency's 24-hour emergency hotline on 0800 807060.

Anthony Osborne