More than ten flytipping offences recorded every week in West Sussex
The latest data shows the problem is on the rise here
Official data shows that more than 5,700 flytipping offences were recorded in West Sussex between April 2019 and March 2020.
The Official for National Statistics figures show that all but two of the county's seven districts and boroughs saw an increase in offences from the 12 months prior.
Of the 5,731 offences recorded in that time, Arun had the most with 1,45, followed by Horsham on 1,066, Crawley on 1,049 and Chichester with 1,011.
Only Adur (down from 612 to 407) and Worthing (371 down to 352) saw their rates fall in that time.
Out of the incidents recorded in West Sussex in 2019/20, just under half - 2,574 - were related to incidents on the county's highways.
The stats represent a 7% increase on the 5,348 offences recorded on public land in West Sussex through 2018/19.
Nearly one million incidents were recorded across England according to the latest totals, with 90,507 of those occurring in the South East.
The Country Land and Business Association has warned that the figures are 'just the tip of the iceberg', and that landowners stand to lose out because of them.
Regional Director for the CLA, Nick Sandford, said:
"Thousands of incidents of fly-tipping take place on private land and these are not included in the statistics.
"Landowners are too often victims of fly-tipping with tyres, asbestos, fridges, building waste and many other types of rubbish dumped on their fields and in gateways.
"If the landowner doesn’t clear the waste, at personal cost, they can risk prosecution. They are effectively paying the price for being a victim of crime.
“We believe that if a landowner removes the waste from their land, they should then be able to dispose of it free of charge at a local authority disposal site. They should not have to pay the cost to clean up the crimes of others.
“The punishments for those caught fly-tipping do not go far enough – it is often just a fine of just a few hundred pounds. Until this changes and large fines are handed out to those caught committing this crime there simply won’t be a deterrent to stop it taking place. "
The CLA has called for a collaborative effort between the police, local authorities and the Environment Agency to help tackle the issue.