Craven District Council is launching a major crackdown on the blight of fly-tipping and litter louts - and the Craven Herald is backing the operation to clean up the district.

Operation: Cleaner Craven is aimed at stopping those who believe it is their right to dump waste and rubbish wherever they feel like it.

The huge open spaces and secluded areas around Craven means that too many people think they can get away with fly-tipping and littering.

So far this year, there have been 197 incidents of fly-tipping reported.

But Craven Council has pledged to get tough on offenders and improve monitoring of hotspots in the new crackdown.

And we want to see our readers helping out by reporting any incidents they see and shopping offenders.

If you want to report incidents direct to us, then you can upload words and pictures to our website here, email newsdesk@cravenherald.co.uk or send a message to us on Facebook or Twitter (follow @CravenHerald).

Crimes such as fly-tipping, dog fouling, littering, smoking in smoke free places, stray dogs and abandoned vehicles cost the council thousands each year.

Fly-tipping alone cost the council nearly £11,000 in 2015, a spokesman said.

Craven District Council is to take a zero tolerance approach with new surveillance cameras to catch offenders, and financial penalties, court action and even prison for those who are caught.

The first phase of Operation: Cleaner Craven is a crackdown on fly-tipping.

Warning notices have been displayed at the fly-tipping hotspots in the district and surveillance cameras are being used to catch offenders in the act.

And we want our readers to help by reporting any incidents they say, whether it be tonnes of trade waste or somebody dumping their bottles at a beauty spot.

Councillor Carl Lis, Lead Member for Greener Craven on the Council, said: “This new campaign aims to make our towns, villages and countryside cleaner, more pleasant places to live, work and visit. It will also help to reduce the cost of clearing up these environmental crimes, saving residents thousands.

“Sadly some people want to spoil our wonderful countryside. We’re making every effort to stop them and we need residents to help us with this campaign.

“People can help us by reporting environmental crime incidents such as fly-tipping to our Cleaner Neighbourhoods team so that action can be taken and the area can be cleaned up as quickly as possible. The message to offenders is clear – we’re watching, and we will catch you.”

Many of the environmental crimes can be dealt with by a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). This gives offenders a way of discharging the offence without the need for going to court, freeing up officer and court time. This means that low level offenders can be punished relatively efficiently. Fines can vary from £50 to £300.

Since the council’s new Cleaner Neighbourhoods team was formed, the number of fixed penalty notices given out has soared. In 2014/15 the council gave out 15 notices, while in 2015/16 it gave out 23, and in 2016/17 so far it has given out 32.

For high level offences or persistent offenders court action will be taken. The penalties for these offences can vary but do include fines of up to £50,000 and/or up to 12 months imprisonment. There are a number of fly-tipping and other waste related offences which are currently under investigation.

The new ‘Operation: Cleaner Craven’ campaign also aims to educate and engage with the public via community groups, schools and events, with further phases tackling issues such as littering and dog fouling.

Any incidents reported to Craven District Council will be investigated and where sufficient evidence found enforcement action will be taken.

Residents can report environmental crimes to the Council by calling 01756 700 600. You can also send us pictures, by using the contact us form on craven.herald.co.uk, by email to newsdesk@cravenherald.co.uk, by tweeting @cravenherald, or via our Facebook page.