FLY-tipping is blighting parts of the Worth Valley, it's claimed.

Concerns are growing that rural areas of the ward are being increasingly used as an illegal dumping ground.

Worth Valley councillor Rebecca Poulsen is calling for action to be stepped up.

She has met with one farmer, Walter Clay, whose land has been targeted.

"Our local farmers are becoming more and more concerned about the amount of fly-tipping occurring regularly on their land," says Cllr Poulsen.

"Incidents are often in remote areas and at night.

"When rubbish is dumped on farmland, it's the farmer who has to arrange for it to be cleared and pay for its disposal. It is a huge amount of extra work and cost that they don’t need.

"I've been raising this with the council and the police and requesting more support for local farmers to protect them from this criminal activity and to ensure that those who are fly-tipping are prosecuted."

Cllr Poulsen added that there were widespread fears the problem could worsen if the closure of Keighley tip, proposed as part of Bradford Council's budget package, goes ahead.

Those concerns are shared by Mr Clay.

He said: "We've suffered with damaged fencing and fly-tipping on the land we farm, and then we have to clear the rubbish ourselves.

"With the proposal to close Keighley tip, I am really concerned that the fly-tipping in rural areas will get even worse. There is not just a cost to us in having to clear it, but the sheep can be affected if they eat the rubbish."

A Bradford Council spokesperson says: "Fly-tipping blights communities and is simply unacceptable so we do everything we can to crack down on it.

"We aren’t responsible for removing fly-tipped waste on private land but we work with landowners to identify and prosecute perpetrators.

"Officers have been in contact with Mr Clay to explain how we are tackling the problem and how we can help him clear up the mess.

"Over the last 12 months our environmental enforcement team has set up CCTV cameras at multiple locations across rural parts of the area, including the Worth Valley.

"This has resulted in two seized vehicles, two pending prosecutions and several ongoing investigations.

"Last year we investigated over 2,000 incidents, issued 70 fixed penalty notices and seized eight vehicles.

"If anyone has information about fly-tipping, please report it at bradford.gov.uk/flytipping or call 01274 432111."