SEVERAL sites have been visited across Knowsley last week following concerns raised of illegal dumping and burning of waste.

Merseyside Police's Rural, Wildlife & Heritage team visited several sites with the Environment Agency Waste Crime Unit and local land owners, with several offences being identified.

Officers say that they will be working closely with partners to conduct follow-up visits to ensure compliance, and will continue to target areas affected by similar offences and pursue those who are responsible.

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St Helens Star: Officers worked with several partners on the searchesOfficers worked with several partners on the searches (Image: Merseyside Police)
In January, a Star report highlighted that there were 1,901 incidents of fly-tipping reported in St Helens for 2022-23, with a total of 1,574 actions taken and 61 incidents resulting in a fixed penalty notice being imposed and no prosecutions.

The DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) data revealed that this gave St Helens the ranking of the 102nd local authority areas in England in terms of its ratio of fines issued per fly-tipping incident, with a ranking of 99th in terms of fixed penalty notices. 

With 2,544 recorded incidents, Knowsley was ranked 231st for the number of fines per incident, with seven penalty notices and five prosecutions issued.

An earlier Star report explained how St Helens Council spent approximately £570,000 on tackling fly-tipping incidents between 2020 and 2022.

St Helens Star: Bags of rubbish dumped in KnowsleyBags of rubbish dumped in Knowsley (Image: Merseyside Police)
Highlighting the scale of the problem and resources used to tackle fly-tipping, Merseyside Police officers point to the fact that waste crime costs the UK £1billion every year.

Officers explain that it is also a huge form of revenue for Organised Crime Gangs who target and exploit rural communities across a range of crimes, such as livestock theft, burglaries targeting firearms, and poaching animals.

The police further explain that joint partnership working allows the Force to use the Environment Agencies powers to access sites that it wouldn't usually get access to, or know exist.

This then allows officers to identify any further offences such as stolen vehicles and machinery, wildlife offences and provide crime prevention advice and engage with local rural businesses.