THE blocking of a route to a care home by fly-tippers, as we report today, is the latest and certainly the most dramatic symptom of the problem of fly-tipping.

The practice is now rife throughout the county, with many country roads and public areas the favoured dumping ground for unwanted waste.

Usually, as in the case highlighted in Fawley, the perpetrators appear to be contractors of some kind, or at the very least home-owners who simply will not pay the fees now required to have building rubble removed correctly.

When once such material was taken to the public tip for free, now local authorities, quite rightly, demand a fee.

And while the vast majority of contractors do dispose of waste thoughtfully and legally, a few have no regard as to where and how they discard of items.

It is to be hoped there are some tell-tale signs that will enable the authorities to track down the perpetrators this time.