A suspected fly-tipper was almost in tears as his black BMW being towed away by city enforcement officers.

The suspect was surprised by the morning visit from city council enforcement officers and police - who arrived with a breakdown recovery truck.

The man argued with the officers with neighbours looking on as the luxury car was carefully winched onto the truck and taken away from the Small Heath street.

The council enforcement team seized two vehicles they have evidence were involved in illegal fly-tipping .

The cars have been caught on CCTV cameras sited near to fly-tipping hotspots.

The second car, a grey Citroen Xsara Picasso, was seized from outside a home in Winson Green - across the road from a park where fly-tipping has been a major problem.

Head of the waste enforcement unit Tony Quigley said: “We identified two vehicle and to further our investigation have had to come out and take them.”

He said that they will ensure that the cars are the ones spotted on CCTV and seek other links to the footage.

“Hopefully the rightful owner will come forward and we will interview them,” he added.

Enforcement teams use a mix of visible and hidden CCTV cameras at known hotspots to catch people turning up to dump rubbish on the roadside.

They stand the best chance of securing a conviction where both the car or van number plate and person tipping the rubbish can be identified.

Over the last 12 months officers have caught and taken prosecution action for 50 different incidents of fly-tipping at a single hotspot.

Cars tend to involve domestic waste being tipped, but the officers have also caught business waste - often from rogue tradespeople like builders and carpet fitters who don’t want to pay to dispose of rubbish.

Last year there was a spate of fridges being tipped by people who claiming to be recycling them had simply stripped out valuable metal motor parts and dumped the rest in side alleyways - often dozens in a single night.

But Mr Quigley said the fridge incidents have died down in recent months, but other fly-tipping was a persistent problem.

“There are people who simply do not care about the state of our streets and will tip rubbish anywhere. We are putting more cameras out there and we will prosecute anyone we see fly-tipping,” he added.

He called on citizens to play their part and report incidents to the council. “We need to work together on this,” he added.

Fly-tipping - how big a problem is it?

Fridges dumped in Ithon Grove, Kings Norton last year

In the year to March 2017 there were in Birmingham:

There were 14,799 reported incidents of fly-tipping

652 investigations into suspected commercial waste disposal offences and offences (equivalent to 12 a week)

185 fines at £300 were issued to businesses who couldn’t show within the required time that they had proper trade waste arrangements

39 cases concluded at court

33 fixed penalty notices at £400 issued to people for fly-tipping

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10 vehicles seized on suspicion of involvement in fly-tipping

1 person sent to prison for fly-tipping

Anyone who witnesses fly-tipping can report an incident by calling 0121 303 6007 or by visiting the council website .