Council van 'reported for fly-tipping'
SuppliedAn investigation has been launched after a council van was spotted at the scene of an alleged fly-tipping incident in a neighbouring authority area.
Photos show a Newcastle City Council van parked next to what appears to be a pile of dumped rubbish in Ashington, Northumberland.
The incident occurred around 16:30 BST on 10 June on the corner of Boiler Road and Castle Island Way - just yards from the local tip.
Northumberland County Council said inquiries were ongoing, which Newcastle Council is understood to be supporting.
Images shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service show the silver Vauxhall van, emblazoned with the Newcastle Council logo, with its rear doors open and a heap of waste materials behind it.
SuppliedA local resident spotted the van and rubbish at the entrance to the former North Seaton Colliery site, next to the woods at Wansbeck Riverside Park.
They told the LDRS they were "appalled" that anyone would dump rubbish at the nature site, which is popular with dog walkers and horse riders, because the tip is close by.
The man, who asked not to be named, said: "For someone to be doing it so blatantly from a council van while people were standing around watching was appalling.
"The tip is only 100 yards up the road.
"It is a hard thing to do these days because of all the fly-tipping, but we try to keep the area as clean as possible."
It is thought the suspect involved in the incident is not a direct employee of Newcastle City Council, which said it took a "zero tolerance" approach to fly-tipping and had a high number of prosecutions for waste crimes.
In the 11 years up to March 2025, the authority carried out 1,869 prosecutions and issued 2,418 fixed penalty notices for waste crimes.
This resulted in 1,279 weeks' worth of prison sentences and more than £800,000 worth of fines.