JUST three people were fined for fly-tipping in a six month period last year - despite more than 800 reports of illegal dumping.

The district council has just released the figures for April to September last year.

The proportion of fly-tippers fined was not as low as in the four-year period between 2006 and the start of 2010, when more than 5,000 cases were reported and three were prosecuted.

But those affected by fly-tipping say the numbers being fined are still pitifully low.

John Blakeney, 66, who has watched a mountain of rubbish build up at the back of his home in Dickens Rise, Chigwell, said this was still not enough to deter would-be fly-tippers.

“If it's that small a percentage, we're going to get more people doing it,” he added.

He said the council should clear up dumped rubbish and prosecute fly-tippers quickly to stop more people thinking they could get away with following suit.

He added: “If people go up and down there on a regular basis, they think that if they've got something to chuck out, they can put it there.”

His neighbour, Rita Payne, 77, said: “It doesn't surprise me at all. I used to live in Chigwell Rise and a man used to come and tip stuff there regularly.

“We could do with some big signs saying that if people tip, they will be prosecuted.”

A report into the figures, which will be discussed at a council meeting tonight, says that people are rarely caught in the act of fly-tipping and hardly ever leave evidence in the rubbish they dump, making it hard to track them down.

It also says that since January, the council has looked into every report of fly-tipping to find out if there is any evidence that could lead to a prosecution, including talking to the public and interviewing suspects on tape.

Councillors will hear the full report at the meeting in the Epping High Street offices from 7.30pm.