THE revelation today that cases of fly-tipping have rocketed by 300 per cent in the past three years is not only depressing, but also provokes the question of whether this blight is being worsened by short-sighted council policy.

For coming in the wake of warnings that bans by local authorities on people taking domestic rubbish to public tips in vans would encourage them to dump it illegally, it would seem that point is proved alarmingly.

Countryside ranger Ian Walker tonight tells how he finds beauty spots desecrated sometimes by thousands of thrown-away items such as fridges, tyres and building waste.

It's obvious that an all-out drive against fly-tipping is urgently needed across East Lancashire.

Mr Walker wants closed-circuit TV cameras installed in high-risk areas to catch offenders. This is a good idea --and coupled increased vigilance everywhere and maximum penalties from the courts, the rising tide of fly-tipped rubbish might be reduced.

But is clearly time, too, that councils reviewed their van ban. They want to stop people who should pay for the disposal of commercial waste from tipping it for nothing at council sites. But, at the same time, they are detering people from bringing domestic waste in this way and evidently driving many to dump it elsewhere illicitly.

They should lift this restriction and do more to catch the trade waste dodgers.