Neath Port Talbot Council is the top authority in Wales yet again by a large margin when it comes to successfully prosecuting fly-tippers, Welsh Government figures show.

Statistics for 2017/18 show the Council brought 37 successful prosecutions – virtually half of the 75 prosecutions brought by all councils across Wales and a rise of 117 per cent on the previous year.

The next most successful Welsh councils for bringing fly-tipping prosecutions in Wales in 2017/18 were Denbighshire and Carmarthenshire with seven each, Swansea and Caerphilly with five each and Blaenau Gwent with four.

Neath Port Talbot Council has been top in Wales for bringing fly-tipping prosecutions over the past four years and was also top in 2011/12, 2010/11, 2009/10 and 2008/09.

Also in 2017/18, Neath Port Talbot was in the lower half of Welsh councils when it came to recorded incidents of fly-tipping (1,056) with the Welsh list being topped by Cardiff (5,928), Newport (3,588) and Rhondda Cynon Taff (3,349).

Cllr Ted Latham, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene and Engineering said: “Neath Port Talbot Council is pleased once again to be leading the way in the fight against fly tipping - a blight on so many of our communities in Wales. We take a zero-tolerance approach to it and are proud of our consistently strong enforcement record, particularly in securing successful prosecutions.

“As well as being active on the ground our Waste Enforcement team has a strong presence on social media and we would like to thank residents and partner agencies for their support and for helping to share the clear message that Neath Port Talbot is determined to stay safe and free from illegal waste.

“I would also like to thank our vigilant staff including the legal team for doing a fantastic job throughout the year once again and I also thank members of the public for reporting such incidents.”

More than 30,000 incidents of fly-tipping are recorded every year in Wales costing the Welsh taxpayer more than £2m annually. Items fly-tipped can vary in scale from bin bags, fridges and mattresses to large quantities of waste dumped from trucks. It can be found anywhere - along roadsides, in lay-bys, in the countryside or on private land.