OFFICIALS fear fly-tipping will increase in County Durham as the tax on burying waste rises.

The Landfill Tax is set to more than double in the next six years, rising from £15 a tonne now to £35 in 2010.

Councils fear that some operators will try to avoid the charge by dumping waste instead of taking it to an authorised landfill site.

Durham County Council and five district authorities have agreed to pay towards the cost of an officer to identify offenders and take them to court.

The officer will be employed by the Environment Agency, but will work in the waste management business unit at County Hall. The appointment is initially for a year.

Deputy chief executive Chris Tunstall said: "Fly-tipping is both a blight on County Durham in environmental terms and also a significant burden to the council taxpayer in terms of meeting the cost of clearing and disposing of the fly-tipped waste.

"Few fly-tipping offenders are caught in the act and, due to the lack of resources within local authorities and the Environment Agency, few cases ever get to court.

"The few successful prosecutions usually go unpublicised and the fines and costs imposed do not reflect the time and effort involved in preparing a prosecution case."