AN ENVIRONMENTAL health officer got down and dirty today (Monday) to clear an area in Chard affected by fly tipping.

Jeff Hollis from South Somerset District Council was sorting through and clearing rubbish left in an area along Combe Street.

The News has received several complaints about the area in recent months, with rubbish being dumped and left on a regular basis.

Jeff said: "I know we've had complaints about the area before, but I saw the mess when I visited at the weekend at came to clear it up.

"There's always a difficulty with waste dumped on private land and with this part especially, as we don't know exactly who owns the land."

After routing through the rubbish, details with a name and address were found which the council will be following up.

Jeff added: "We will now be writing to the person whose details we found.

"The measures will mostly be educational as they may not know the procedure, but if they are responsible for the fly tipping, and it continues, they could face prosecution."

Fly tipping is a major problem in Chard and South Somerset, costing the council around £25,000 over the past year to clear up fly tipped waste from bring bank sites across the district.

To report any instances of fly tipping, call the Street Scene team on 01935-462462 giving as much detail as possible regarding the type of fly tip and location.