SPY cameras are to be used to catch people who dump their rubbish on the streets.

Flytippers caught on film by cameras placed in secret locations across Liverpool could be jailed for up to five years next month.

There are enough covert surveillance cameras along with CCTV to cover the whole city.

This month two people who dumped rubbish and then set it on fire in Everton were fined after the city council brought prosecutions.

The pair both pleaded guilty to illegal tipping and were fined £250 and £400 each with costs. Magistrates have the power to impose fines of up to £20,000, and crown court convictions can see unlimited fines, but tough new laws being introduced tomorrow mean illegal tippers will face up to five years in prison, and may be ordered to forfeit their cars or banned from driving.

Lib Dem Councillor Marilyn Fielding, the council's executive member for neighbourhood services, said fly tipping was costing the city thousands of pounds a year.

She said: "I want to see these people in court paying the price for their selfishness."

IT costs Liverpool council around £630,000 a year to clear up flytipping.

In 2004 it had 4,271 cases reported, with another 4,653 people dumping rubbish in alleys.
According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) rubbish is illegally dumped somewhere in England every 35 seconds.