Local MP David Davies told parliament last week that a new licensing scheme could help win the fight over the blight of fly-tippers dumping rubbish on beauty spots.

The Conservative MP said local authorities must be given more powers to find and penalise those responsible for dumping waste and leaving the bill to taxpayers.

“We need tougher police action and tougher penalties for people who are caught fly-tipping,” said Mr Davies, adding that current laws which find the landowner liable, need to be changed quickly so those responsible could be dealt with.

“There is room for some kind of voluntary licensing scheme, a little bit like that in force for anyone who wants to be a door supervisor,” he said.

“In other words, we would give an organisation like the Security Industry Association the power to accredit anyone who wants to move away waste.

“Those who want to take away waste can apply for a licence, there would obviously be a charge for it, and would be able to establish themselves as legitimate operators.

“They would have to undergo training. They would not be able to breach any health and safety rules or tip waste illegally or they would lose their licence.”

Anyone who uses a non-accredited company to remove waste could then be held accountable if the material was then dumped, he continued.

“That is not a panacea, of course, but it is one of a number of moves that we could think about,” he said. “It would get people who produce waste, whether that be a small business or a householder, thinking about whether they use one company that is a bit cheaper or another that is accredited.

“Using the accredited company might cost a little more, but they would not run the risk of having somebody knocking on the door in the months to come and demanding payment of a bill of thousands of pounds in order to remove waste that has been illegally tipped.

“It would quickly raise public awareness of the problem and alert the public to the fact that, frankly, there are a lot of cowboys out there going around breaking the law.”

Fly-tipping incidents and information should be reported to Monmouthshire County Council on 01633 644644.