A new drone will help City of Wolverhampton Council to keep fly tippers in its sights as the authority continues its fight against the crime.

The ‘eye in the sky’ will allow officers to easily scan areas that have been victim to fly tipping and collect high quality footage to assist with prosecutions.

It will also identify hot spots to target and help officers ensure that waste businesses are operating correctly.

Three environmental crime officers have been fully trained and authorised as drone pilots after the council received a £49,119 grant from the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

The council was one of 26 authorities in England to be given a share of nearly £1million grant funding from Defra to continue its innovative approach to tackling fly-tipping.

The drone adds to AI cameras introduced in the city earlier this year, which were also funded by the Defra grant. The smart cameras have 360-degree vision and can recognise when someone is fly-tipping, sending an immediate report to the team.

Evidence captured by the drone and the cameras will aid the council’s ongoing Shop a Tipper campaign, which asks the public to identify those responsible for breaking the law by dumping rubbish.

Under the campaign, anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared to appeal for information to help identify them.

If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton Gift Card.

Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or report online at www.shopatipper.com

Since the start of January this year, the council has issued 52, £400 fixed penalty notices for fly tipping. And over the past 12 months, the council has carried out eight successful prosecutions for waste-related crime.

Letters are also being sent to hot spot areas where excess waste is being left outside properties. The letters remind residents of their responsibilities to dispose of waste responsibly and contain information about waste collections.

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “We are grateful for the funding from Defra, which has enabled us to introduce another tool in our ongoing fight against fly tipping.

“The drone will make it easier for our enforcement team to investigate this type of environmental crime. It is thoughtless, unpleasant and unhygienic and we will not tolerate it in Wolverhampton.

"Our message is clear to anyone disposing of waste where they think it will go undetected: our eye in the sky will be watching."

Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or report online at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/reportflytipping

Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection