HOUSEHOLDERS in Evesham and the Vale could face fines of up to £5,000 if they are caught fly tipping under new changes to the law.

New regulations aim to reduce the thousands of tonnes of household waste fly-tipped in the West Midlands every years.

In 2004, there were over 35,000 incidents of household waste being dumped in the region, much of it by operators posing as legitimate waste carriers.

From this week, all householders in England will have a responsibility under the waste Duty of Care to ensure their rubbish is passed on to authorised carriers only. Householders not taking reasonable measures, could face fines of up to £5, 000.

Registered waste carriers other than the local council can now be found online thanks to a new waste carrier register set up by the Environment Agency.

Announcing the changes to the Duty of Care regulations for waste, Local Environment Minister, Ben Bradshaw, encouraged anyone using a private waste carrier to look at the register or call their Environment Agency office. "Fly tippers rely on people not asking questions and not checking for registration but now all householders have a responsibility to ask those questions and check for that registration. Waste cowboys can make huge sums of money by charging to take household rubbish away illegally, before dumping it over the nearest hedge. If that rubbish is traced back to the household where it came from the householder could now be fined."

Mr Bradshaw, highlighted changes were not in place to scare people but to provide another check in the fight to prevent fly-tipping.

Client service manager Sharon Casswell from Wychavon District Council said: "We urge residents who are using anyone other than a council contractor to get rid of waste to check that they're a registered waste carrier.

"We've got a free of charge collection service for some bulky items and there's a subsided chargeable service for other items. Householders can take their green waste, composting and bulky waste free of charge is based at Hill and Moor, Throckmorton on 01386 861434," she added.