TOUGH action should be taken against people fly-tipping in Wellington town centre, says Deputy Mayor Mark Lithgow.

Fly-tipping has become a problem since the lockdown imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic with the worst affected areas outside the Sue Ryder and St Margaret’s charity shops in Fore Street. The pedestrian access in South Street into the car park has also been affected and black bins have been left in Cornhill.

Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWAT) has stepped up patrols in the town centre to pick up dumped waste.

Mr Lithgow said: “We’re getting it cleared, but as soon as we’re getting it cleared we’re getting it put back again. We need to get to the root of the problem and, in my opinion, prosecute one or two people because otherwise they just think it’s a really good service for taking their rubbish away.”

Mr Lithgow said he had complained about the problem to Cllr Sarah Wakefield, who holds the environmental services brief at SWAT. It is now writing to landlords of homes of multiple occupation and their tenants about the problem.

Mr Lithgow said he had also spoken with police Sgt Dan Bishop, who covers the Wellington beat, and he in turn was alerting the CCTV monitoring service in Sedgemoor to the problem.

For the full story see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.