South Hams dealt with a record number of fly-tipping incidents last year, new figures show.

It comes as a record 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents were reported across England last year, with Environment Secretary Steve Reed pledging to "punish rubbish dumpers".

Figures from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs show 629 fly-tipping incidents were reported in South Hams in the year to March 2024 – up from 556 the year before.

It was the highest level since comparable local records began in 2019-20.

The national number of fly-tipping incidents last year jumped by 6% and reached the highest figure since 2018-19.

The most common place for fly-tipping to occur was on pavements and roads, accounting for 37% of incidents. Meanwhile, some 60% of cases involved household waste, ranging from black bags of waste to the contents of shed clearances, furniture, and carpets.

Fly-tipping in South Hams was most common on highways (63%), while household waste accounted for 52% of the illegally dumped rubbish reports.

Mr Reed said: "Fly-tipping is a disgraceful act which trashes communities and its increase is unacceptable. Communities and businesses shouldn’t have to put up with these crimes."

He pledged the Government will crack down on fly-tipping and "punish rubbish dumpers, forcing them to clean up their mess".

He also said the new Crime and Policing Bill gives ministers the power to issue statutory guidance to councils to drive up fly-tipping enforcement.

The Defra figures also reveal a slight drop in the number of enforcement actions, with fixed-penalty notices dropping 5% to 63,300 fines last year. No notices were issued in South Hams last year.

But Adam Hug, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, said: "Councils are working tirelessly to counter the thousands of incidents every year and are determined to crack down on the problem."

He warned the penalties from prosecution fail to match the severity of the offences committed.

"We continue to urge the Government to review sentencing guidelines for fly-tipping so that offenders are given bigger fines for more serious offences to act as a deterrent," he said.

"Manufacturers should also contribute to the costs to councils of clear-up, by providing more take-back services so people can hand in sofas, old furniture and mattresses when they buy new ones."