A council in Nottinghamshire is appealing to residents to hold off having a big clear-out during the coronavirus lockdown following an increase in fly-tipping.
Across Mansfield there have been 116 incidents of fly tipping since social distancing measures were put in place on March 23, Mansfield District Council has confirmed.
The figure, up to and including April 16, is a rise of 19 or around 20 percent on the same period last year.
Councillor Amanda Fisher, Mansfield District Council's portfolio holder for communities and wellbeing, says fly-tipping will not be tolerated in the district.
"Fly tipping is a criminal offence and I have yet to hear of a good excuse for it", she said.
"If you must have a clear-out at the moment, please keep your waste at home until charity shops and waste and recycling centres re-open.
"Householders have a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly.
"If you are paying for your waste to be taken away, it is your responsibility to check that the person disposing of your waste has a waste carrier's licence.
"If you don't and it is your waste that ends up on some country lane, it could be you who ends up with a criminal record for the fly-tip."
It comes after Ashfield District Council revealed it is investigating a huge industrial-scale dump near the popular Brierley Forest Park on April 17.
Mansfield council says it is still clearing fly tips, and they can be reported online. The authority also has mobile CCTV, some that can be used covertly, at fly-tip hotspots.
