The Environment Agency, Northamptonshire Police and local councils are joining forces to protect our countryside and rivers.

Every day more than 2,500 bags of rubbish are dumped across the towns and countryside of England, costing the taxpayer more than £ 50 million a year to clean up – but the environment also pays a high price.

The Environment Agency focuses on catching and prosecuting the big offenders, while the local authority tackles the smaller incidents. However, the police also have an important role to play in protecting our environment from illegal fly-tippers.

A workshop is being held on Tuesday 20 February at the Upper Ayhno Grounds House, in Ayhno, Northants, for frontline police, council and Environment Agency officers to develop ways of ensuring those who put the environment at risk pay.

Environment Agency enforcement officer Dennis Welling said: “Those who think dumping on the environment is acceptable have to realise they will be caught and punished. Working closely with the local council and the police we can give a greater level of protection to our environment.

“It is important the officers on the ground get to know each other and identify where we can help each other. A lot of our work crosses from one agency to another so we need to be aware of other agency’s problems and duties so we can be effective and consistent.”

Environment Agency officers can face a wide range of challenges when they are patrolling by the river. The seminar will also look at:

  • Checking rod licences of fishermen and women
  • What to do if officers encounter illegal fishing or fish theft
  • Pollution and illegal abstraction

Countryside liaison officer for Northamptonshire Police, PC Glynne Malkin, said: “This seminar will be an extremely useful way of sharing information between all the agencies that work together to tackle issues in rural areas.

“We value the importance of partnership working, and that includes working with the community in rural areas. We need the help of those living in rural areas to act as extra eyes and ears and report any crime, incidents or any suspicious activity to the Police or other relevant agencies such as the Environment Agency, RSPCA or local authority.”

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