MULTIPLE reports and images of illegally dumped items in Caithness have come to light including mattresses, chairs, washing machines, hazardous materials – and even a dead dog.

Councillors from both sides of the county have united in condemnation of the unscrupulous "opportunists" who fly-tip items in the towns and countryside.

In Thurso, a man who wished to remain anonymous sent a photograph of a double mattress that had been blocking a narrow entry between Queen’s Terrace and Oldfield Terrace for two weeks despite being reported to the council by various locals.

He said: "This entry is used by several elderly people to access the nearby shop. If any of them tried to walk across it, they could easily have fallen face first onto the tarmac.

"Some neighbours are complaining it is a health hazard as it appears to be soiled on the top. When it was lying flat it blocked the rear gate of one council house. Highland Council states that it should be dealt with within 10 working days."

Other reports from around the county show what could be asbestos sheets in a ditch near Lyth, a washing machine at Kinnaird Street in Wick, parts of a kitchen unit and the remains of a small dog in a plastic bag, both discovered in ditches around the Reiss area.

Wick and East Caithness councillor Raymond Bremner said: “I’ve become increasingly aware of the opportunists that are making the community’s life a misery by fly-tipping in the past but this increase, and at a time where we are desperately trying to get back to some sense of normal while we deal with the ongoing epidemic, really is a punch below the belt."

Councillor Bremner added: "The people doing this are finding the places and the times where they know that absolutely no-one will catch them, no matter the resources that agencies throw at it. They obviously have no sense of common decency and I would appeal to the community, if they know of anyone who is involved this, to report them to the authorities.

"Appealing to the perpetrators seems useless because they are hell-bent on doing this whenever and wherever they can sneak the chance. But doing it at the time where they know resources are stretched and where the community’s resilience has been at a low ebb is sickening.”

Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor Matthew Reiss talked about how "education at school and by parents" is the key to tackling the issue.

"Other countries in western Europe do not have as much of a problem, for some reason, which needs to be ascertained. It may take a long time to achieve a change but it can be done – for example drink driving is now socially unacceptable but it wasn't 30 years ago," he said.

"Backing up the education and advertising there needs to be more deterrent in plain English, fines and fixed penalties. Enforcement should be a last resort but needs to be taken more seriously."

A Highland Council directive says that fines ranging from £200 to £20,000 can be issued for fly-tipping or the offender can receive six months in prison or up to five years if hazardous waste is dumped.

Illegal dumping can be reported to the council at this link www.highland.gov.uk/info/1054/rubbish_and_recycling/89/litter_and_fly-tipping

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