Fly-tippers blighted public places in Norfolk more than 10,000 times in a year, new figures reveal.
Councils issued just 68 of the litter louts with £400 fixed penalty notices, along with 512 warnings, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
While incidents fell by around 4pc nationally, there were still more than 1m waste crimes reported in 2021/22.
Countryside campaigners say the grim statistics do not show the true scale of the problem, because they do not include the thousands of incidents that take place on private land.
The highest number recorded in Norfolk happened in Norwich, where incidents bucked the national trend and increased from 4,755 to 4,805, with 4,331 happening on council-owned land.
In Great Yarmouth, incidents fell from 2,146 to 1,869, but in King's Lynn and West Norfolk they increased from 1,188 to 1,326.
Norwich City Council issued no fixed penalty notices and 10 warnings, while Yarmouth Council dished out 12 notices and 395 warnings and West Norfolk handed out eight notices and 19 warnings.
Items illegally dumped included everything from household waste, furniture and white goods to tyres, asbestos and animal carcases.
Cath Crowther, east director of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) which represents farmers, landowners and rural businesses, said: “Despite a slight fall in the fly-tipping figures they continue to make for bleak reading and barely scratch the surface of a crime that’s blighting rural communities and damaging the rural economy.
"There is a glimmer of hope as there has been an increase in fixed penalty notices and court fines, but there is still a long, long way to go.
"Two-thirds of all farmers and landowners have at some stage been a victim and bear the cost of removing rubbish themselves, or risk prosecution themselves.
“It’s not just the odd piece of litter blotting the landscape, but tonnes of household and commercial waste which can often be hazardous – even including asbestos and chemicals - risking the safety of people and animals."
“The UK Government’s promises to clamp down on fly-tipping are yet to yield serious results. It seems that criminals simply do not fear prosecution. Without more progress, landowners, not the criminals, will continue to pay the price.”
THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM
The 2021/22 figures for each area of Norfolk, with figures for 2020/21 in brackets:
Breckland 975 (1,103)
Broadland 508 (629)
Great Yarmouth 1,869 (2,146)
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 1,326 (1,188)
North Norfolk 397 (473)
Norwich 4,805 (4,755)
South Norfolk 881 (971)
Totals 10,761 (11,263)
TACKLING THE TIPPERS
The number of investigations/fixed penalty notices/warnings issued by Norfolk councils in 2021/22, with figures for 2020/21 in brackets:
Breckland 133/39/42 (60/20/14)
Broadland 21/1/2 (7/0/0)
Great Yarmouth 925/12/395 (1,141/10/245)
King's Lynn and West Norfolk 1,614/8/19 (2,145/0/22)
North Norfolk 397/3/20 (473/0/19)
Norwich 18/0/10 (20/1/0)
South Norfolk 166/5/24 (177/4/26)
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