LABOUR councillors have pledged to 'clean up York' if they seize control of the council in the May 4 elections - claiming figures show there are more than 32 fly-tipping incidents in the city EVERY WEEK.

They say they would recruit a team of 'neighbourhood caretakers' if they gain control of City of York Council.

York opposition Labour group Leader Cllr Claire Douglas said: “Across the country the Conservatives have let neighbourhoods be buried under an avalanche of litter and dumped rubbish – leaving communities feeling broken and powerless.

“In York, our Liberal Democrat - Green council have been no better. Their incompetence has meant they’ve failed to keep York’s streets safe and clean."

But Lib Dem leader Cllr Nigel Ayre has poured scorn on Labour's fly-tipping figures.

"The annual fly-tipping number includes all commercial and household bags presented at the wrong time," he said.

"The real number of flytipping (cases in York) is much lower."

He said under the Lib Dems and Greens York council had increased investment in waste teams by £1million per year, recruited more people, increased the number of bins across all wards and modernised the entire fleet.

"As for Labour’s new ideas, we already have a team who investigate and prosecute fly-tippers. They have had several successful cases this year and clean up squads are already in place," he said.

Labour insist their figures come from new analysis by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) which they claim show that the number of fly-tipping incidents across England rocketed by a third over the last 13 years, from 819,571 in 2010 to 1,091,019 in 2022.

There were 1,661 incidents across York in 2021/2022, Labour says - almost five cases a day on average.

Cllr Douglas said a national Labour government would establish 'clean up squads' in England and Wales for fly-tippers, rubbish dumpers and vandals - ensuring that those who make the mess clean up the mess.

"They will be given Fixed Penalty Cleaning Notices that will be managed by the local authority," she said.

But Cllr Ayre said: "Cllr Douglas should spend more time listening to residents and less time cut and pasting national press releases. Residents we speak to want committed community champions rather than national party sound bites."

Green councillor Denise Craghill accepted that fly-tipping, litter and anti-social behaviour were 'serious concerns for residents'.

"At present all council budgets are under a lot of pressure and it is difficult to create new posts without making cuts elsewhere," she said.

Nonetheless, she insisted, the Green coalition with the Lib Dems in York had protected the council’s team of neighbourhood enforcement officers who take action against fly-tipping and the anti-social behaviour team who work with police.

"Tackling anti-social behaviour isn’t just about enforcement though but needs to address root causes," she said.

"This is why we have made sure that some of the £150,000 of extra investment in community safety in the current council budget is to support specialist youth workers."