A top rural police officer has urged anyone with information about those responsible for fly-tipping to come forward following an increase in incidents across west Suffolk in recent weeks.

Sergeant Brian Calver, from Suffolk police's rural crime team, said fly-tipping "never seems to go away" but added that in some cases people are driving further than their local tip to dump rubbish.

Figures published by West Suffolk Council earlier this month revealed there were 133 incidents of fly-tipping between July 1 and September 31 this year, which was down from 208 reported during the same time last year.

The authority added that three-quarters of all incidents happen in just seven areas - Mildenhall, Nowton, Clements, Chalkstone, Chimswell, Brickfields, and All Saints.

The council stressed that it did not necessarily mean residents in those areas were responsible - as people often travelled to tip their waste.

Sgt Calver said: "It's one of those offences that never seems to go away but just lately there seems to have been a bit of an increase in it.

"I don't know whether that's down to the longer hours of darkness affording people more opportunities to do stuff undercover but we've seen an increase, certainly in the west of the county, in the past few weeks alone.

"There's various types, we've got builder's waste being dumped, which is classed as commercial waste so they'd have to pay to get rid of it but even more disappointing is the amount of stuff when someone's had a clear-out at home.

"One I looked at last week was full of children's play things and clothing, and some of the clothing was in good order and could have been taken to a charity shop.

"This stuff could be recycled and reused but people are just thoughtlessly chucking it down in the countryside. It's very unsightly, costly to clear up, puts wildlife at risk and it's just annoying to put it bluntly.

"It costs us all. As taxpayers, we all have to pay to clear it up. What I do find disappointing is that with an awful lot of stuff that gets dumped, you look at it and think they have probably driven further than the local tip to get it there."

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Sgt Calver urged anyone needing waste disposal services to do their homework to combat rogue clearance operators.

"Look on the internet, check out the documents. Genuine companies who have got certificates, permits will be quite happy to show you them. Do your homework. Any company you've got a sniff of doubt about, don't go near," he said.

Anyone with any information about people fly-tipping can report it to Suffolk police on 101, their local authority, the Environment Agency or Crimestoppers, Sgt Calver added.