Fly-tippers should face higher fines, Reform UK urges

Fly-tippers would face higher on-the-spot fines under proposals drawn up by Reform UK.

Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said the amount of litter on the streets, in parks and in the countryside is a "sign of just how broken Britain is".

Tice called for the upper limit for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to be increased to £5,000. The party also wants an annual "national action day" to help "rekindle civic pride" and more action to tackle littering connected to fast food outlets.

The government announced a series of proposals aimed at tackling fly-tipping in England as part of its Waste Crime Action Plan released in March .

Tice told a press conference in central London: "We all want to be environmentally-friendly, but there's nothing friendly about littering, about fly-tipping.

"It's a national embarrassment, it's a national disgrace and it's not the sign of a healthy nation. It is a sign of a nation that is ill at ease with itself, that has given up caring and it's, frankly, simply unacceptable."

FPNs of up to £1,000 can be issued in England for fly-tipping, with higher fines and imprisonment among the punishments for offenders convicted in court.

On FPNs, Tice said: "We need to change this, we need to say no, that should be £5,000."