Businesses who dump their rubbish are being warned they risk a hefty fine or prison for flytipping.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council has sent out the message to firms after successfully prosecuting businessmen in the borough for ditching their trade waste illegally - leaving one with a £5,000 fine.

In recent months, the council’s environmental rangers have become aware of a growing number of firms who are failing to control and dispose of their waste correctly.

All businesses, including any run from home, must deal responsibly with any waste their firm creates, including old mail, cleaning products, food eaten on premises, cardboard, plastics or sweepings. This rubbish cannot be put in household wheelie bins, left beside public litter bins or taken to recycling centres.

The borough council has recently prosecuted business people who dumped rubbish on land belonging to Yarmouth Stadium and by the bottle banks on Steam Mill Lane, after tracing the waste back to them.

Environmental ranger Kerry Hemsworth said: “Great Yarmouth Borough Council tries to help businesses to comply with the law, but has a zero-tolerance approach to the illegal disposal of trade waste.

“Businesses can either dispose of waste themselves by taking it to a licensed site or by having a licensed carrier remove it on their behalf.

“Either way, they must declare it as trade waste and be able to produce documentation to show how the waste was disposed of, what type of waste was disposed and in what quantity.”

Failure to provide this information can result in penalties and fines of up to £5,000, while anyone found dumping waste illegally can be slapped with a fine of up to £50,000 and/or a prison sentence.