Nowhere to hide for illegal tippers (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Nowhere to hide for illegal tippers

FLY tippers will soon have nowhere to hide after the Environment Agency was this week given new powers to combat anti-social behaviour.

The Government announced the EA will be able to apply for Anti-Social Behaviour Orders to tackle environmental crimes like vandalism, noise pollution and fly-tipping.

It is hoped the new laws will allow such crimes to be tackled effectively and at the earliest opportunity.

EA boss Barbara Young has welcomed the announcement as, like many parts of the countryside, the Cotswolds particularly suffers from fly-tipping.

She said: "These new powers are crucial in the battle to crack down and catch those who have no regard for our health and environment.

"Far too many people and businesses are prepared to simply dump their waste and pollute the environment - costing industry and taxpayers millions.

"Now it will be possible for us to take rapid action in cases where an activity is causing harassment, alarm or distress to the community."

The latest statistics on ASBOs show that 918 orders were issued between April and June 2005 - a one percent increase from the previous quarter.

Mrs Young added: "ASBOs set out strict conditions perpetrators must abide by, which is a vital backup to prosecution and means the EA can do its job better."

Home Office minister Hazel Blears also announced a package of measures to ensure that ASBOs are issued appropriately.

She said: "I am delighted that the EA will soon also be able to apply for ASBOs.

"Graffiti, vandalism and fly-tipping are a depressing and unsightly blight for many communities. They increase fear of crime and degrade our public spaces.

"The use of this new power will lead to faster action against the perpetrators and significant improvements in the quality of the local environment."

The Home Office also plans to conduct a one-year review of the ASBO system and the young people who have been issued with orders.

Rod Morgan, chairman of the Youth Justice Board, said: "We take anti-social behaviour by juveniles seriously.

"We've always advocated graduated and early response from youth offending teams and partner agencies to stop such behaviour from spiralling out of control.

"ASBOs can deal constructively with troublesome young people, and benefit the wider community as a result. We particularly welcome the announcement that ASBOs on young people will be reviewed after a year, a period which may be sufficient to achieve lasting changes to many young people's behaviour and attitudes."