LOCAL authorities can now issue £400 fines as an alternative to prosecution for small-scale fly-tipping.

The new rule, which came into force from 9 May, follows the introduction of new government regulations on the unauthorised deposit of waste.

Figures from Defra suggest some 900,000 fly-tipping incidents were dealt with by local authorities in England during 2014/15.

But rural business leaders say these figures exclude much of the waste dumped on farmland and other private land where it poses risks to local wildlife, farm animals and the environment.

Landowners are liable for any waste that is fly-tipped on their land and can be prosecuted if they do not clear it away, often at considerable cost to their business.

Dorothy Fairburn, northern region director for the Country Land and Business Association, said government figures showed there were fewer than 2,000 prosecutions for fly-tipping last year.

"More effective action is urgently needed," she said. Offenders should be dealt with more robustly.

"Fixed penalty notices alone will not solve the problem as they only work if the offender is caught in the act."

Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Defra's spokesperson in the House of Lords, said fly-tipping was unacceptable whether it occured on public or private land.

"It spoils our enjoyment of the countryside, can harm human health and wildlife, and damage farming and rural tourism," he told peers.

"It also undermines legitimate waste businesses where unscrupulous operators undercut those that operate within the law and is a drain on both local authorities and landowners that clear it up.

"Tackling this scourge and other forms of illegal waste activity is a priority for the government."

The exact extent of fly-tipping on private land is unknown as landowners are not required to report this to Defra, said Lord Gardiner.

But landowner estimates suggested that fly-tipping on private land may cost £50-150m per year in clean up and disposal costs alone.

Between April 2009 and April 2016, private landowner organisations reported some 5,946 fly-tipping incidents on their land.

"We recognise that the data collected does not fully reflect the scale of the problem. We recognise the inconvenience and costs that fly-tipping poses to landowners.

"We are working with a wide range of interested parties through the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group to improve understanding and awareness of the problem."