Fly tipping incidents in West Oxfordfshire have fallen by 85 or 11.5 per cent during the year, according to the latest national statistics published by the Environment Agency.

The latest incident saw the council target an area off Cuckoo Lane at Barnard Gate, between Witney and Eynsham, yesterday, when they had to clear up a dumped garden shed and other rubbish.

The area's police commander, Ch Insp Dennis Evernden, said: "We are interested in this kind of environmental crime because it is often linked with other crime, like burglary and metal thefts.

"Flytippers are not just lazy individuals but also rogue traders who dump builders' rubble, kitchen sinks, whatever, to avoid paying the fee at licensed rubbish dumps."

West Oxfordshire District Council is celebrating success a year after it set up a dedicated team of two environmental enforcement officers who have been mapping where flytipping occurs.

In the past 12 months the council has cautioned and prosecuted eight offenders, including Standlake resident Andrew Wilson who dumped large quantities of rubble and kitchen building waste by the side of the main A415 road, just outside his village.

Wilson, of The Furlongs Standlake, was fined £600 and ordered to pay £200 costs plus a £15 surcharge to cover the costs of removal.

David Harvey, cabinet member for the environment, said: "A reduction in fly tipping is excellent news, particularly as the public have identified it as one of their environmental crime priorities."

In addition to reducing the number of incidents, the costs of clearing up fly tipping has been reduced in West Oxfordshire by 28.1%, from £42,421 in 2006/7 to £30,508 in 2007/8 (a reduction of £11,913).

Bill Oddy, the council's head of community services, said: "We now know where the hot spots are. There are three bad ones we are closely monitoring."

Dumping commercial waste can incur a £300 fixed penalty fine, while the cost of a licence for offloading it at a controlled waste site is £144.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) Oxfordshire Branch welcomes the news that fly-tipping rates are dropping in west Oxfordshire.

Dr Helena Whall, campaign manager, said: "Fly-tipping is a menace that blights attractive countryside.

"That is why CPRE has launched Stop the Drop, to make the countryside what it was almost everywhere until very recently, and what most of us still want it to be - a place of cherished beauty and sometimes utter perfection."

Other areas of the county have also seen a reduction in flytipping. Countywide the reduction is 5.4%.

There have been 16 cautions and prosecutions in Oxfordshire compared to none the previous year.