FLY-TIPPING incidents in Test Valley have more than doubled in the past five years, new figures have revealed.

In a report by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), 1,138 incidents of dumped waste were recorded in the borough in 2018/19 - soaring from 536 in 2014/15.

The latest figures show the number of actions taken against fly-tippers by the council only came to 319 in 2018/19.

From 2015/16, the number of incidents shot up to 851, while in 2016/17 this figure rose again to 981.

Now one community leader is urging Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC) to install more cameras in dumping hotspots in a bid to catch the offenders red-handed.

Cllr Alan Dowden, who represents Valley Park on the borough council, said: "Test Valley was one of the worst areas where the amount of fly-tips has doubled over the last five years; this is quite significant and there has to be a reason for that.

"It cannot go on like this because there is a huge cost for cleaning up the rubbish and these figures do not include private land, so rubbish that is dumped on farms does not even count.

"Other districts are putting in measures to catch people easier by installing cameras in areas where there are regular fly-tips, so we could do more to catch people in the act.

"We have to do something because people cannot put up with this all the time and it is irresponsible as the public are having to pick up the bill."

He added: "There is an app, called My Test Valley, where you can report fly-tipping and the quicker it is reported the quicker someone can get out there and catch them.

"We need to be using these apps because they are free and myself and I am concerned about rubbish being dumped."

TVBC and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been contacted for comment.