FLY-TIPPING is not on the rise in Bournemouth, the council says.

Boscombe ward councillor Philip Stanley-Watts asked the cabinet to reveal the costs of "the worsening problem of fly tipping within the borough".

But Cllr Robert Lawton, cabinet member for housing, said fly tipping had not increased significantly in the previous 12 months.

"When comparing year-on-year data, in this case April 2016 to March 2017 (2,356 reported incidents) and April 2017 to March 2018 (2,405 reported incidents) the figures have stayed broadly consistent, and therefore there has been no dramatic increase in the cost of clearing the fly tipping," he said.

Cllr Lawton did not indicate the cost at the meeting, but Bournemouth council spent some £26,000 on clean-up in 2016-17.

He said the borough was "keen to be involved" in a Dorset County Council and Police and Crime Commissioner initiative to tackle the problem.