CALLS for tougher punishments for people who fly-tip have been made to tackle "persistent" and "terrible" piles of rubbish blighting Oxford.

Community members said more needs to be done to squash the scourge of refrigerators, washing machines, bags of rubbish, electrical items and building materials being dumped across the city in rising quantities.

In September, Oxford City Council will consider adopting powers to issue on-the-spot fines of £400 to culprits.

The new legislation on offer is part Government proposals to overhaul how local authorities combat the anti-social behaviour.

But Rosanne Bostock, leader of the litter picking organisation OxClean, said the only way to crack down on fly-tipping is to install CCTV cameras near hotspots around the city.

Regular areas blighted by the rubbish have been identified in Elsfield Road and Marsh lane in Marston, which have seen building materials be dumped in the past week.

Mrs Bostock added: "Elsfield Road is a common place which was affected even when OxClean started nine years ago.

"It's a persistent problem and the only way to catch people is by putting cameras in the known spots.

"Having fines is a bit pie-in-the-sky as it is very difficult to enforce."

City council board member for community safety Dee Sinclair said she was in support of the new Government powers.

She added: "Fly-tipping is totally unnecessary and a form of anti-social behaviour.

"I really support the new legislation of £400 fines. Fly-tipping degrades local areas and is expensive to deal with.

"It's unacceptable."

In May the Government introduced the powers allowing local authorities to hand out stiff fines.

It is hoped the new powers will bridge the gap between smaller on-the-spot fines handed out to those who drop litter and criminal proceedings against large-scale illegal dumping.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said the power to issue fines without having to take perpetrators to court will help councils under pressure to cut costs.

Councillor for Marston Mick Haines said: "They just think they can dump the rubbish out of sight and out of mind.

"It's costing the taxpayer.

"A £400 fine is not that high for what it causes."

Spokesman Chofamba Sithole said: "The city council’s executive board will consider in September the adoption of new powers, brought in by government in May 2016, that allows local authorities to issue fixed penalty notices for fly tipping.

"Officers plan to recommend introducing the maximum possible fine under the new legislation, £400, to reflect the seriousness with which the city council takes this environmental crimes."

In Oxford, there was a rise of about 30 per cent, from 1,233 to 1,589 incidents of flytipping in 2014 - costing the taxpayer about £65,000 to clean up.