JUST 73 out of 210 fines issued to Fifers for fly-tipping and littering in the last financial year were paid, new figures have revealed.

Fife Council is fighting a losing battle when it comes to environmental crime and a Dunfermline councillor has called for new legislation from Holyrood to tackle the problem.

Between April 2018 and the emd of March this year, there were 136 Fixed Penalty Notices for fly-tipping and 74 for littering.

Of those 210 cases, only seven were reported to the procurator fiscal.

At a recent meeting of the full council, Councillor Gavin Ellis asked why fines that were unpaid were “dropped” by the council rather than reported to the fiscal.

In reply, Councillor Ross Vettraino, convener of the environment, protective services and community safety committee, said: “Yes, the council does ‘drop cases’, as Cllr Ellis has put it, if the council believes that they cannot be successfully pursued.

“A reason for doing so, for example, is because the procurator fiscal will not issue a complaint unless there is visual evidence of the offence.

“In my experience over the last 50 years of illegal dumping, which included littering, that is a stance in which the procurator fiscal service has been wholly consistent.”

Cllr Ellis believes that what the procurator fiscal requires in evidence is too difficult to achieve and there needs to be a change in legislation to help the council prosecute successfully.

He told the Press: “If the fiscal really wants photographic evidence or admittance to take cases forward then that’s very difficult.

“It’s something that Holyrood needs to spend some serious time on. If cases are dropped then it’s a lot of work down the drain.

“We also need to work out how to educate the public.

“If someone is getting a new kitchen fitted then they need to make sure those who are taking the waste away have a licence.

“But this ultimately needs to go to Holyrood; environmental protection is a cross-party issue and it should be simple.

“Currently, legislation is failing the council and they’re spending a lot of time and money trying to deal with these issues.”

Safer communities team manager Dawn Jamieson told the Press: “I think if there was legislation that held the householder responsible for dumped waste than we’d see more prosecutions.

“There are some changes already taking place though. At the moment, we cannot hold the registered keeper of a vehicle responsible for dumping out of a car but new legislation is about to change that.

“The issue with fly-tipping is that you require admittance or someone witnessing the crime taking place before the procurator fiscal will look at the case.

“Ultimately, householders have a duty of care to make sure their waste is disposed of properly.

“It can be very frustrating when you know fine well it’s a particular person but the big issue is witnesses.

“People are advertising all over Facebook to take away waste but it’s very difficult to trace them and, as you can imagine, they’re unwilling to engage.

“Disposing of waste is costly but we get these cowboys that undercut.

“I think we need a campaign to raise awareness along with other partners as people need to take responsibility.”

The Procurator Fiscal Service explained that the evidential standard required in criminal cases was a matter of law and was not a matter of prosecutorial discretion.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is committed to the rigorous, fair and independent prosecution of crime.

“Careful consideration is given to any reports of alleged criminal conduct which are submitted by the police, or any specialist reporting agency.

“Prosecutorial action will be taken if the reports contain sufficient evidence of a crime and if it is appropriate and in the public interest to do so.”