More garages sign up to regional crackdown on tyre fly-tipping

West Mercia Police, councils across Shropshire, Herefordshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire have teamed up with Telford-based forensic and security company Smartwater in a ‘tyre tagging’ effort.

Two garages in Tenbury Wells are among the latest six to sign up in the Malvern Hills District Council area where the scheme has received £10,000 funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner.

It involves garages being given a kit to mark tyres scheduled for disposal, using an invisible but forensically traceable Smartwater liquid.

Tagging tyres will allow authorities to easily trace any that are fly-tipped back to the garage responsible for disposing them and help prevent garages from being targeted by organised criminals to illegally dispose of tyres.

Sergeant Marvin Choudhury, from West Mercia Police’s problem solving support team, said: “Illegal fly-tipping is an issue across the force and by working with our partners at Smartwater and local authorities we hope to crack down on this offence.

“Over recent years we have started to notice a connection between tyres being dumped illegally and organised criminals. By tagging tyres that are no longer fit for purpose, it will allow us to locate which garage the tyres have come from and to see if they have any links to organised crime.

“Garages across all four policing areas within our force; Shropshire, Herefordshire, Telford & Wrekin and Worcestershire will benefit from this scheme, and I am very pleased to have the support of all nine local authorities within these areas.”

Councillor Tom Wells, portfolio holder for community services at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “This initiative is a really important step in helping to tackle illegal fly-tipping across the district, and we are really pleased to see so many garages have already got involved.

"There is no excuse for fly-tipping, and we want to do everything we can to try and help keep the district clean and tidy.”

To become part of the programme in the Tenbury Wells area contact your local rural and business police officer via 101 or email cepo@malvernhills.gov.uk to contact community and environmental protection Officers at Malvern Hills District Council.

Anyone who witnesses any fly-tipping can visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/report-it to pass on the details to council officers.