There were more than 4,000 cases in the city last year

Liverpool City Council said there had 4,851 incidents of fly-tipping reported in the city in 2002 costing �204,000 to clear.

And so far this year more than 3,400 cases have been reported.

The report also shows there is an increasing amount of industrial waste being illegally dumped in the city.

Last year there were 65 incidents of asbestos, chemical containers or tyres being dumped - which need specialist teams to remove.

Councillor Eddie Clein, chairman of the Select Committee, said steps were being taken to improve the situation.

Grot hotspots

"We asked for this report because of the high level concern throughout the city about fly-tipping," he said.

"It is clearly a problem which affects all parts of the city.

"We were pleased to note that an Enforcement Forum been set up to co-ordinate responses to this problem and they will be implementing greater enforcement in this area."

Some parts of the city have been put under surveillance to try and catch those responsible, and Mr Clein said the number of street cleaners in fly-tipping hot spots were being increased.

The largest number of cases were in the Liverpool 4 and 8 postcode areas with more than 500 incidents of fly-tipping in each.