FLY-TIPPING travellers are getting off scot-free each time they dump while camping illegally on public land.

It has emerged that Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has never prosecuted reckless travellers who are in some cases jettisoning large amounts of waste on its land.

Official figures obtained by The Gazette reveal thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being wasted clearing up after travellers.

In one incident in September last year, in Carpenters Down, Popley, a group dumped 10 tonnes of rubbish – lumping the council with a £1,052 bill.

The following month 5.8 tonnes were shifted from Upper Sherborne Road and an open area in Oakridge, costing £1,426 to mop up.

The borough council claims it struggles to prosecute travellers because they have no fixed address and because it cannot pin down which of the group did the dumping.

The borough council’s corporate director Karen Brimacombe commented: “The officer time and resources involved in trying to identify and gain a successful conviction would certainly cost a lot more than the cost of the clean-up.

“This is not unique to Basingstoke and Deane, it is a problem facing all authorities across the UK.”

The borough council admitted it did not keep detailed records of the types of rubbish collected, but said it was dealing mostly with discarded gas cylinders, garden waste, concrete, general litter and waste.