Laser-fitted drone squads to tackle surge in fly-tipping

The watchdog said it has also developed a new screening tool that enables its officers to scan and cross-check lorry licence applications against waste permit records.

Alongside the new surveillance technology, the EA said it has increased the Joint Unit for Waste Crime from 13 to 20 specialists, who are working with law enforcement partners to tackle organised crime networks.

Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds said: “This Government is aggressively pursuing waste criminals and bringing offenders to justice.”

She added: “From advanced laser mapping to drone surveillance and new vehicle scanning tools, this technology is helping us track, expose and stop waste crime, ensuring those who blight our communities are held to account.”

Waste crime in the UK has escalated in recent years, with high-profile illegal tips provoking public outrage, including the 150-metre-long dump near the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire and a 30,000-tonne heap in the protected area of Hoads Wood in Kent.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, fly-tipping hit its highest level since 2019 in 2024, the last year in which data is available.

There were a whopping 85,568 cases reported - more than 230 incidents every day - a nine per cent increase on the previous year.

Throughout the Dales, rubbish is being dumped at the side of the roads, with detritus blowing into the stunning Yorkshire countryside.

Bogus waste-disposal companies are using local Facebook groups to offer cash-in-hand collections of household rubbish, and then dumping it in laybys or farm tracks.

The announcement comes as a serial fly-tipper has been fined £1.4m for illegally dumping more than 4,200 tonnes of waste across England.

Varun Datta claimed that his firm Atkins Recycling Ltd was disposing of waste at a legal dump at Kiveton Park near Sheffield, however in actual fact the loads were being diverted to 16 sites across the country.

These ranged from Middlesbrough to Lincolnshire and the south coast, and saw farms, a historic manor house and a nature reserve being trashed.

Datta, 36, of Little Chester Street, London, was ordered to pay £1.1m in a fine, plus £100,000 in compensation and £200,000 in prosecution costs, after pleading guilty at Birmingham Crown Court.

He also received a suspended four-month prison sentence.

Ms Reynolds added: “This is a shocking case of illegal waste dumping, orchestrated by a group of shameless crooks who thought they could operate above the law.

“I welcome the punishments secured by the Environment Agency - which send a clear message to criminals that they have nowhere to hide.”