A FLYTIPPING trouble-shooter could be appointed by Hampshire County Council to lead the fight against the growing problem of illegal dumping.

The move is part of the authority’s proposed flytipping strategy, which will be decided on by its environment boss, Cllr Rob Humby, on Thursday.

A fly-tipping partnership and projects officer would be appointed on a two-year contract at an estimated cost of £50,000 per year.

The new post would be within the Hampshire Trading Standards team, and would include leading a fly-tipping working group and co-ordinating intelligence sharing and collaboration between partners.

Cllr Humby said: “For too long, some people feel they have been able to get away with blighting the countryside while leaving the council taxpayer to pick up the bill.

“The majority of Hampshire’s residents have had to suffer from the actions of an irresponsible minority.”

The strategy will by led by Hampshire County Council alongside 13 other councils - including Test Valley, Winchester and Southampton – and 11 organisations, such as Hampshire Constabulary, Environment Agency and National Trust, to tackle flytipping.

Hampshire County Council says it wants to spark a change in people's behaviour to help reduce fly-tipping through three approaches - enforcement, reporting and education.

The strategy's goals include improving the recording of fly-tipping incidents, educating residents and businesses about their duty of care when disposing waste, and ensuring tippers receive the maximum penalties and fines to serve as a deterrent to other would-be dumpers.

Cllr Humby added: “A key strand of this work will be co-ordinating with partner organisations to publicise a few simple steps that householders and businesses can take to have peace of mind that any waste taken away by contractors is being done so legally and responsibly, and doesn’t end up fly-tipped.”

In 2015/16, the county council and district and borough councils spent around £680,000 of taxpayers’ money on collecting, investigating, and disposing of illegally dumped waste across Hampshire.