FLY-TIPPERS appear able to dump rubbish in the streets of Newport without fear of prosecution, an Argus investigation reveals today.

There were more than 7,000 fly-tipping reports but just five prosecutions in the last four years in Newport, a Freedom of Information request showed.

No-one was taken to court in the city between April 2011 and March 2014 and the five offenders the council prosecuted in 2014-2015 were handed fines totalling just £2,600, our probe revealed. Fly-tipping costs Newport council tax payers £300,000 a year.

Newport environmental group, Pride in Pill, branded the lack of prosecutions “disgusting”.

Fly-tipping in Newport by and large fell in the last four years, with 2,014 reports in 2011-12, 1,982 in 2012-13, 1,578 in 2013-14 and 1,672 in 2014-15, totalling 7,246, the Freedom of Information request showed.

A Newport council spokesman said yesterday: "Fly tipping in Newport blights our landscape and those committing these crimes show little regard for the environment, the communities affected by their actions or the cost and work involved by Newport City Council in clearing up their mess.

"This sort of criminal activity costs the council more than £300,000 a year and impacts on the resources available for the delivery of other front line services.

"It is both disappointing and sad that so many cases of fly-tipping are reported each year.

"The vast majority of these incidents are not on council land.

"The impact of fly-tipping is also felt by landowners who can find themselves facing significant costs arranging for the waste to be removed.

"Tackling this sort of environmental crime is made more difficult by the perpetrators who go to considerable lengths to cover their tracks.

"Prosecutions are intelligence-led and require the council to be able to identify the culprits from their waste but all too often this is not possible. We also rely on information from the public.

"Newport City Council is committed to tackling fly-tipping and prosecuting those responsible and would very much appreciate the support of the city’s residents to help us with this often difficult task."

Pride in Pill founder Paul Murphy, 42, said: “I think it’s disgusting.

“That’s why people fly-tip. They know they can get away with it, if only five were prosecuted in the last few years.

“The council needs to do something about it. They need to prosecute more people.”

Conservative group leader, former mayor Cllr Matthew Evans, said yesterday: “It’s intolerable. Two weeks ago we had 20 volunteers in Allt-Yr-Yn View and they cleared one-and-a-half tons of rubbish.

“You get a community effort and then you get sick individuals who chuck a carpet down there. It’s totally unacceptable.

“Clearly the message is not getting through and has no effect.”

Newport council is encouraging residents to report fly-tipping online at newport.gov.uk/en/waste-recycling/fly-tipping-and-litter.aspx

Tomorrow: we reveal figures for the rest of Gwent