A WARNING that public vigilance is needed to help bring to justice people who abandon cars and dump rubbish has been sounded by Malvern Hills Conservators.

Fears were raised at a board meeting last Thursday (July 11) that the rising cost of disposing of items such as cars and tyres could lead to an increase in fly-tipping. The meeting heard that four cars had been dumped on Conservators' land in the past two months along with eight cases of fly-tipping, one of which included asbestos.

Chairman Richard Graves, speaking after the meeting, appealed for Conservators, staff and members of the public to form a kind of Neighbourhood Watch scheme to try and catch those who dump rubbish.

He warned that anyone caught fly-tipping would be made an example of in the courts.

Mr Graves said: "We will have to ask the director and his staff to be as vigilant as possible and to look for any evidence of crime.

"It may cost us money but it may well be well spent if we make it quite clear that we're not a soft touch for the dumping of vehicles."

Board member John Tretheway said that anyone who saw vehicles or rubbish being dumped should do everything they could to alert the Conservators and help them catch those responsible.

"The public have got to be vigilant," said Mr Tretheway, who added that with the help of "right-minded people" the problem could be prevented.