by Glenn McMahon and Brian Haran

Tandridge council has asked for the public to help track down the fly-tippers who are costing the district thousands of pounds a year.

The reckless rubbish dumpers are leaving anything from wrecked furniture to rotten trees in the middle of country lanes, rendering many roads impassable and dangerous.

Now the council has set up an online appeal page, detailing the incidents. If you have information, you can let the council know using an online form.

By making it easy to provide pictures and details of serious incidents, it is hoped witnesses will be more likely to report offenders.

Richard Coles, waste enforcement officer for Tandridge District Council, said: "We are all paying for the clear-up, and the cost to the environment is harder to measure."

He blamed unscrupulous businesses for the mess, which costs the cash-strapped council about £60,000 a year in clear-up fees.

Commercial refuse disposal is expensive, and Mr Coles says some people pay unregistered firms to dispose of their rubbish cheaply, but these companies then dump it illegally.

In one case some rogue traders collected a couple's domestic waste, drove half a mile up the road and dumped it in the countryside.

Council officers have stepped up surveillance operations, including hidden CCTV cameras, in fly-tipping hotspots across north Tandridge. But this has pushed the tippers to find new dumping grounds.

Mr Coles said: "We're experiencing more and more of this type of thing since we started using covert surveillance."

He warned that the dumpers cause a real danger to drivers when their rubbish obstructs the roads.

For instance, a massive pile of builders' waste – including paint pots, refuse bags, garden wood and lumps of wood – was abandoned in Church Road, Woldingham, on February 8.

The week before a vast commercial container full of scrap tyres was abandoned in a lay-by off the A22 Godstone Road.

Wendy Pursehouse, 53, of Oakley Road, Warlingham, said the scheme would encourage people to take action against the dumpers.

She explained: "Fly-tipping costs a huge amount to clear up, it looks awful and no-one wants it to happen.

"If there's an option for people to report it, especially if it's anonymous, it might spur people into action, and actively help their community."

Wendy, a public relations officer, said badly-hit areas included areas such as Featherbed Lane and near Chelsham.

In one of the worst cases, piles of rotting meat – including a pig's head – were dumped in beauty spots, including in Warlingham and Caterham.

It led to butcher James Hawken, 26, of Goodenough Way, Old Coulsdon, being given a five-month jail term last September.

●TANDRIDGE Council spends £60,000 a year clearing up fly-tipping.

●Last year, it prosecuted 18 people, and 35 were given cautions.

●The council offers £500 for information leading to a conviction.

Three people received cheques last year.

●The appeal's website is at www.tandridge.gov.uk/environment/streetcleaning/appeals.htm

●To report fly-tipping call 08000 682070.