Warning of £5,000 fine for 'Christmas flytippers'

Dumping unwanted Christmas packaging and waste could attract a fine of up to £5,000, a Staffordshire Council said.

In addition to fly tipping anyone who hires an unregistered firm to remove their rubbish may also be fined £5,000.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council has had reports that unofficial rubbish collectors are removing waste and dumping it outside the city.

Unless rogue traders were caught in the act, the people who hired them would be held responsible, the council said.

Its environmental crime unit said that if postage labels or discarded gift tags made the rubbish traceable to a specific person or household, they would face the fine.

Councillor Terry Follows, cabinet member for environment, waste management and neighbourhood services, said: "These people may look professional, but in reality they are making money through collecting people's rubbish then dumping it wherever they feel like."