THE number of fly-tipping incidents in Bolton has reduced by 30 per cent in the last year, according to newly updated council figures.

New statistics show a reduction in fly-tipping incidents reported by the public to the council from 2,964 in 2015/16 to 2,065 incidents in 2016/17 – a drop of 899.

After the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) recently released the figures for 2015/16, Bolton Council faced calls from opposition parties to reveal the up-to-date statistics.

It has been claimed that the rollout of slim bins across the borough has caused an increase in fly-tipping — something the council has repeatedly denied.

Speaking at a meeting of the council's Environmental Services Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday, Cllr Nick Peel reiterated that there is no factual evidence to support claims of increased fly-tipping.

Cllr Peel, the council’s executive cabinet member for environmental services, said: “I’m really pleased that reports of fly-tipping have reduced by a third across the borough.

“We are committed to tackling enviro-crime and we will issue fines and pursue prosecutions to flytippers.

“Our investment in dedicated behaviour change teams has also been a huge success, and they are a significant reason why the figures have fallen.

“The teams work incredibly hard across the borough – if they notice that waste has been dumped at the back of properties, they will attempt to engage with residents to try and get to the bottom of the issues.

“They will talk to residents and advise them on how to dispose of their waste correctly and see if any further support is required.

“This usually results in residents removing the waste themselves but in cases where residents refuse we will issue fixed penalty notices and we will seek to prosecute more serious cases.

“I would encourage all residents to continue reporting fly-tips to us along with any other information that will help us identify those responsible.”

The year-on-year drop has been attributed to a combination of targeted education of residents and consistent enforcement against fly-tippers.

Reports of fly-tipped black bags have reduced from 607 in 2015/2016 to 496 in 2016/17.

Reports of other household waste such as furniture and appliances have also gone down from 1,607 in 2015/16 to 1,039 in 2016/17.

The figures released by the council this week have been sent to DEFRA, but are yet to be validated by the government.

Kevin Walsh, chairman of the Bolton Liberal Democrats, criticised the numbers released last month as "misleading" and says he still has concerns over the new statistics.

He said: "I think the public should take the up-to-date council figures with a pinch of salt.

"I understand the figures released by the council only cover incidents reported directly to the council over the past 12 months and exclude reported fly-tipping through the likes of neighbourhood services, Bolton at Home, FixMyStreet and other methods.

"After speaking with residents it seems that more and more are choosing to report fly-tipping via these other methods as they feel it increases the chances that it will get dealt with swiftly.

"Indeed, a local resident I have been working with had reported an incident of fly-tipping for over a month directly to the council. It was only when I wrote directly to neighbourhood services that this was dealt with.

"Cllr Peel can spin council data any way he chooses. It doesn't change the fact that people are experiencing more fly-tipping, more littering and becoming increasingly frustrated with the Labour-led council telling them that they're lying.

"Only by ensuring the council has a more robust method of collecting the data from all channels can we ever hope to really tackle the issue fully."

Cllr Paul Wild told Astley Bridge Area Forum last month that there had been a definite increase in fly-tipping since the slim bin rollout last year, and is also calling for more comprehensive figures to be produced.

He said: "These figures do not really stack with me from what I have seen and what people tell me.

"The figures might say there it has gone, but you only have to look around to see that it hasn't.

"I would like the council to open the figures up to include Bolton at Home land and private land, so we would have a complete picture."