A GWENT councillor will get tough on flytippers in his ward saying offenders will be prosecuted and publicly named and shamed.

Armand Watts, county councillor for Thornwell in Chepstow, said residents are sick of seeing their streets blighted by dumped rubbish.

Middle Way and Thornwell Road are among several sites where dumpers have left bags of rubbish, old sofas, beds, fridges, broken doors, washing machines and builders rubble - and it is costing taxpaying residents thousands of pounds every year to clean up.

Councillor Watts said: "I have had some meetings with council officers and between us we have agreed to adopt a zero tolerance approach to flytipping.

"We won't put up with this lazy, slobbish anti-social behaviour anymore. "In the past there has been a lack of will to go ahead and prosecute identified offenders but from now on we are determined to do whatever we must to provide a clean and safe environment.

"Once offenders see us prosecute and name and shame people we catch dumping their rubbish, the message will get out there and maybe it will stop."

Specialist Environmental Health Officer John Clements said: "Regular dumping of waste in Thornwell has culminated in us removing many tonnes of it at a cost of up to £3,000 a time.

"We will be monitoring it very carefully in the future. I tracked down an individual after we identified him as responsible for dumping piles of rubbish on one site and after admitting what he'd done, he apologised and returned to the site to clean up his mess.

"The council provides enough services to ensure everybody can dispose of their waste in a safe and clean manner.

"The local one-stop shops have all the information and advice residents need to recycle or bin their waste responsibly."