Barnet Council has spent almost £250,000 in the past year clearing up waste dumped illegally in the borough. The figure was revealed as the authority carried out an operation to catch lorry drivers carrying unregistered rubbish loads.

The authority spent £245,887 in the 2006/07 financial year on clearing up 4,059 fly-tipping incidents.

It is a slight reduction on the figures for the previous year, when £263,076 was spent on 4,843 incidents.

Last Wednesday, council officers held a seven-hour operation at Brunswick Industrial Park, Brunswick Park. Members of the council's community protection group, launched earlier this month, were joined by officers from anti-fraud teams, the Environment Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

They stopped and searched suspicious vehicles, and drivers were asked to provide paperwork showing they were registered waste carriers.

Of the nine people stopped, two were not registered, and another had no heavy goods vehicle licence or insurance. Three more vehicles were found to be unroadworthy or overweight.

Three drivers were given fixed penalty notices - one for driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition, one for carrying an insecure load, and the third for having no road tax.

Councillor Brian Coleman, cabinet member for community safety and engagement, said: "Working in partnership is key to tackling crime in all its forms. Unregistered waste carriers can often be linked to more serious problems, such as fly tipping. Getting hazardous and unlicensed vehicles off the road is vitally important as they can cause accidents and may be involved in other types of crime."

Earlier this month we reported that the council had built a 2.5 metre bund' of earth and rubble around a roundabout at Friern Barnet Retail Park in an attempt to deter fly-tippers.

mdysch@london.newsquest.co.uk