THERE were 3,274 reported incidents of fly-tipping in Fife last year but only 95 fines were dished out to culprits.

Fife Lib Dem deputy leader James Calder said the figures showed that tougher action must be taken against dumb dumpers.

The councillor said: "Thousands of incidents of fly-tipping is completely unacceptable and is a major blight in Fife.

"The fact that last year only 95 fixed penalty notices were issued shows this is neither acting as a deterrent nor punishing the vast majority of offenders.

"There needs to be more done to deal with the offenders."

Cllr Calder submitted the question at last week's full council meeting.

The local authority are hopeful that the free bulky uplift scheme, which will begin next month, will reduce the amount of fly-tipping.

He added: "I did ask about how we will be monitoring the impact of removing the bulky uplift charges, and I sincerely hope this helps to tackle this menace.

"I worry though that this might only scratch the surface and the council must continue to look at solutions to this problem."