Senedd members have demanded a crackdown on fly-tipping, with 42,000 incidents last year – a number that is rapidly rising while prosecution rates remain relatively low.

Mick Antoniw led a debate on a cross-party legislative proposal that would see vehicles confiscated for convicted offenders and force polluters to cover the full clean-up costs.

He told the Senedd: “In Wales, you are very unlikely to be reported for fly-tipping and almost guaranteed not to be prosecuted – this means fly-tippers act with near impunity.”

The Labour politician warned it is “open season” for fly-tipping, with 115 illegal instances every day during 2023/24 – up 20 per cent on pre-pandemic levels and 31 per cent on a decade ago.

During the debate on 1 October, the former lawyer warned: “A decade later, it appears that the number of fly-tipping instances isn't the only metric going in the wrong direction.

“The prosecution rate, already minuscule in 2015, has fallen from 0.3 per cent to below 0.25 per cent.”

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas warned of fly-tipping reaching “epidemic levels” – “blighting our communities, destroying wildlife, and harming our health and well-being”.

She described the proposal as a “real opportunity to clean up our streets, protect our countryside and send a clear message to offenders that fly-tipping will not be tolerated”.

Huw Irranca-Davies, Wales’ climate secretary, described the Welsh Government’s work on fly-tipping as “unparalleled” compared with other parts of the UK.

He largely supported the proposal, sympathising with frustration aimed at the criminal justice system, but he expressed hesitation about more strident measures like seizing vehicles, warning of the potential to undermine the independence of the courts to hand out proportionate sentences.

Mr Irranca-Davies warned it is “highly unlikely, in the extreme” that the Welsh Government will be able to find time to legislate during this Senedd term.