CALLS for people to respect the county they live in after fly tipping hotspots are revealed.

Freedom of information data obtained by the Leader shows that thousands of fly-tipping reports of were received by Flintshire County Council between 2017 and 2019.

Two years ago, 2018 saw the highest number of reports, with 1,132 in total. The highest month was April with 162 incidents across the county, compared to the lowest number of offences in September, which stood at 10.

This was an increase from 2017 which saw 858 figures across the county. The highest number of offences was 105 in March compared to December with 47 incidents.

However, figures for 2019 saw 212 less reports compared to the year before totalling at 920 across Flintshire. The peak month was revealed as July with 125 offences compared to 54 reports in March.

In the last three years, April 2018 had the highest figures on record.

Steve Jones, Chief Officer Streetscene and Transportation said: “Flintshire County Council takes fly- tipping very seriously and investigates every incident and attempts to remove any fly-tipped material on Council land within 24 hrs.

“Action will also be taken if the waste can be identified to an individual or residence. We encourage residents to report any incident they see and as with a number of other councils we record every event on the national data base, to provide an accurate picture of the problem.

“The number of incidents reduced from last year but remains at a relatively consistent levels over the past few years.”

Data also revealed the worst offending towns across the county.

Shotton topped the tables in both 2017 and 2018 with 130 and 142 reports respectively.

However, Flint took the hot spot last year with 101 reports.

These are just the reported figures and Cllr Mike Evans think the situation is still just as bad in his town.

The Shotton councillor told the Leader: “Shotton being the worst town does not surprise me, but it does surprise me that Flint was worst last year.

“I don’t think being top of the table is a good thing, don’t get me wrong – I’d rather have no fly-tipping.

“We’ve had everything thrown in our town, everything including the kitchen sink.”

Cllr Evans reports fly-ripping incidents at every town council meeting but it continues to blight the town.

He added: “It’s degrading our town. Us Deesiders want to maintain the town and want it to be a nice place to live and walk and feel safe.

“The fly-tipping brings it down. And that’s what I don’t want, I want people to walk outside at any time and feel safe, not fall over a bag. I want a safe and clean town.

“I will go on and on and on about it until it’s sorted. Just recently near Crystal Bingo there were four single mattresses and three double mattresses as well as a load of other junk.

“In all my years I have never seen that much. That filled the whole wall up, 24ft at least.

“It’s unbelievable, Shotton has to be the worst for fly-tipping. And the residents are fuming with it as well.

“I was gobsmacked when I saw it, if you do a clearance then take it to the skip. Respect our town.

“Don’t let the few ruin it for the many, I will never give in.”