A CAMPAIGNING Newport community group has expressed concerns about the level of fly-tipping in its area.

Pride in Pill was founded in 2014 with a view to improving the area, which has long been blighted by littering, and other forms of environmental anti-social behaviour.

It held its annual general meeting yesterday, where members said fly tipping had become a major issue for people living in the area.

The organisation holds regular litter-picks, and secretary Paul Murphy said he was delighted by how successful these had been at cutting the amount of waste dropped in the area.

“When we first started two years ago we picked up 320 bags over two hours,” he said.

“Now we’re only having around 20 bags.”

But he said dumping of large items such as mattresses had become noticeably worse throughout 2016.

Group chairman Gary Inight said he was worried people were choosing to dump their items rather than paying for them to be disposed of due to the cost.

“You can’t just put a mattress in a bin,” he said.

“But whether or not you can afford it is not the the issue.

“Newport City Homes pick some of it up and it’s not really their responsibility.

“They go above and beyond the call of duty.

“We shouldn’t really be doing this either, but we do it because we care.”

As part of future litter-picks – the next of which will be held on Wednesday, December 14 – volunteers from the group will also carry out education activities aiming to raise awareness of the issue.

The most up-to-date figures available show that between July and October this year a dedicated Newport City Council team removed around 86 tonnes of dumped waste in the city, including 19 tonnes in October alone.

During the same period the council sent out 35 warning letters to people who had failed to legally dispose of their waste.

For more information on Pride in Pill visit facebook.com/pg/pamurpaol