RICHMONDSHIRE residents are being urged to be extra vigilant when employing ‘man with a van’ services for removing waste.

Over the last few weeks the District Council has seen an increase in fly tipped waste from unscrupulous people who claim to be licensed to dispose of household rubbish.

Without the correct licence, such large amounts of rubbish cannot be disposed of legitimately so ends up being dumped in back lanes, laybys and farmers' fields.

Richmondshire District Council's corporate director, Colin Dales said: “Householders are paying to have their rubbish taken to the tip but sometimes that ‘man in a van’ doesn’t have a licence to do so, so just dumps it by the roadside.

“He fly tips the material they paid to have removed – and they are ultimately responsible for its disposal.

"We ask residents to please remember that it is their waste and therefore their responsibility – if it’s found dumped, even if someone else has dumped it, they will be held responsible and could face a fine.

“We urge people not to be caught out by this and only use licensed tradespeople to remove rubbish from their homes - or take rubbish to the tips themselves where possible.”

There has been an increase in fly-tipping incidents since lockdown forced the closure of the region's tips but as of May 27 most will be open.