Traps to catch fly tippers have been set across the Slough borough.

Project Flycatchet is a three pronged proactive approach being taken to prevent, catch and prosecute those who illegally pick up waste and dump it on other people’s doorsteps.

Council officers will be actively targeting worst offending areas, knocking on doors of those suspected of fly-tipping as well as seizing vehicles believed to be used for the illegal practice.

Project Flycatcher is also trying to prevent the dumping of waste by warning householders who try and dispose of their DIY waste on the cheap, that they could also face prosecution and fines for using illegal waste operators.

Residents are still responsible for their waste outside of their property if they employ a man with a van, or an illegal waste carrier, to get rid of rubbish and could be stung with a £200 fine.

In the 12 months between October 2018 and September 2019 the council attended 1,630 instances of fly-tipping costing £53,386, an average of almost five reports a day from single bags to lorry loads of waste, fridge freezers and sofas.

Kurt Henney, housing and enforcement officer with the council’s resilience and enforcement team, said: “Fly-tipping is not only anti-social and costly to dispose of correctly - it is also a crime.

“In Project Flycatcher not only are we targeting the random man with a van that offers to dispose of lots of waste for very little money, but the resident who thinks they don’t have to go to the trouble of disposing of their waste responsibly.”

Greg Edmond, a housing and enforcement officer, said: “If someone offers what seems a great price the reason could be they are illegally dumping your waste at a beauty spot, outside someone else’s home, and it could pollute the environment.”

More information about bulky waste collection is on the council website at https://www.slough.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling or contact the Project Flycatcher team by emailing resilienceandenforcement@slough.gov.uk