PEOPLE who are illegally dumping household and garden waste will be prosecuted, a council has warned.

Wear Valley District Council has vowed to crack down on fly-tipping, which it says is costing the taxpayer £7,000 a month to clear.

The council has recorded a significant increase in the problem since Durham County Council launched a permit scheme, which has prevented householders using trailers or vans to dump rubbish at public tips from December last year.

The county council says the scheme is going to save taxpayers £1m a year in the long term.

Wear Valley District Council says that fly tipping is now starting to get out of control and, in some cases, rubbish is being set alight by vandals, causing a risk to people living nearby.

Last weekend, firefighters were called to the banks of the River Wear, under Newton Cap Viaduct, after rubbish that had been dumped there was set alight.

There are also concerns that used needles and other unhygienic and dangerous items may be included in some of the abandoned waste.

People are now being warned that a heavy penalty will be paid by anyone found dumping rubbish illegally.

The district council is also urging residents to help its staff to catch those people responsible.

Enforcement officer Debra Hibbitts said: "The authority believes the most effective method of reducing this problem is to strive to prosecute those people responsible in a bid to demonstrate the seriousness of the offence.

"In order to get a conviction, we do rely quite heavily on any information from the public.

"We would ask any witnesses to a fly-tipping incident to report it as soon as possible."

Witnesses are advised to take a car registration number in an attempt to make tracking the culprit easier.

Brian Graham, the council's head of service contracts, said: "Not only do people who fly-tip pollute our local environment, but the extra costs that we incur when cleaning up after them is paid for directly from the council tax."

Complaints about fly tipping or refuse dumping can be made by calling (01388) 765555.