New fly-tipping figures have been labelled "distorted" and challenged by East Devon District Council.

The council takes issue with the recently published information, claiming it gives a false representation of the situation in East Devon.

It has assured residents of its commitment to investigating every report of illegal garbage dumping.

Officers from the StreetScene team visit all areas under their control where fly-tipping has been reported, investigating the evidence against the culprits and arranging for the waste to be removed.

In cases where the illegal dumping occurs on private land, or evidence against the culprits is found, the Environmental Health team of the EDDC steps in to conduct a thorough investigation and, where feasible, enforces penalties.

In the year 2022/23, there were 399 reported instances of fly-tipping.

Out of these, only 23 had enough evidence to be forwarded to the Environmental Health team, with only 10 being investigated further.

In a slightly concerning turn of events, that year saw no enforcement action taken against fly-tipping for the first time since 2018.

The EDDC has noticed a significant decline in the number of fly-tips warranting further scrutiny.

However, during the ongoing financial year 2023/24, two notices of fixed penalty have been served for fly-tipping offences.

The national government insists that all councils put forth data for 'fly-tipping league tables,' which, according to the EDDC, only offers a tiny glimpse into how effectively local authorities are managing public spaces.

Midweek Herald: East Devon District Council has assured residents of its commitment to investigating every report

Councillor Geoff Jung said: "We have seen a big drop off in the number of fly-tips where evidence of responsibility is found, so we are looking at other ways to obtain this.

"These figures provided by Government gives a very distorted view of a council’s performance.

"I can reassure our communities that all fly-tips reported to the council are investigated and dealt with."

He added: "“I would urge any resident who witnesses fly-tipping to contact the council on the East Devon App so our officers can follow it up.”

“What is needed by Government is an overall strategy on dealing with illegal dumping of waste on both public and more importantly private land.”