THESE images show just how bad fly-tipping has got in Hampshire

The grainy CCTV footage shows a man and his accomplice making SIX journeys in a red car to dump rubbish at a beauty spot on the edge of Southampton.

The dumped rubbish included furniture and building rubble.

The environment Agency estimates that fly-tipping costs the public £1m per year in Hampshire alone.

Gareth Bates, environment management team leader for the Hampshire Environment Agency, said: "It is quite frequent for people to dump rubbish in this area.

"We have many areas covered by CCTV cameras and we will prosecute people with the footage we get.

"Fly-tippers can receive a fine of up to £20,000 or a six-month prison sentence."

Within a mile of the area where the man was filmed dumping the rubbish is a Household Waste Recycling Centre, said Gareth.

And within a five-mile radius there are four of these centres.

"It is just pure laziness and causes a public nuisance," said Gareth.

"If someone has a fridge that needs removing then they can get the council to take it away.

"A lot of the problem stems from the public letting odd-job people take their rubbish away for a small amount of money. Very often these unscrupulous people will just dump the rubbish. The public need to find out more information about the person before letting them remove anything.

"They have a moral responsibility to do this."

The footage is being shown today on Meridian Tonight from 6pm as part of Neighbourhood Watch, Meridian and the Daily Echo's new campaign to clean up Hampshire.

The Environment Agency has come up with five tips to reduce the chances of your waste being flytipped.

1. Ask if the person collecting your rubbish is registered as a waste carrier with the Environment Agency.

2. Ask where your waste is being taken. The site should be licensed by the Environment Agency.

3. Is it too cheap to be true? If someone offers you a price much lower then anyone else then you need to ask why.

4. Ask the person collecting your waste for a signed receipt with their carrier registration number on it and, if possible, get the vehicle registration number.

5. If you have any concerns, don't hand over your waste. Remember that if your business waste is dumped illegally then you could be prosecuted for it, even if it was someone else who dumped it.

To find the location of your local tip within Hampshire, where household rubbish can be disposed of for free, please call Hampshire County Council on 01962 847021 or contact your local council.

To check whether a person or a site is licensed or for advice on how to get rid of your waste you can contact the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506.

Anyone who witnesses flytipping or has evidence about the origin of flytipped waste can contact the Environment Agency's hotline on 0800 80 70 60.