Andy Burnham has announced a new crackdown on illegal waste dumping, unveiling powers to seize cash, cars and property from criminals and raising fines for waste offences from £300 to £5,000. The move builds on an existing waste crime action plan and gives police, the National Crime Agency and Environment Agency officers an expanded role, alongside greater use of drones, as ministers target organised crime gangs profiting from large-scale illegal dumps that have blighted communities.

Three new sites have been earmarked for clearance, at Power Station Road on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, Aymer Close in Runnymede, Surrey, and Midland Road in Bradford, West Yorkshire, together containing around 22,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste and affecting an estimated 2,900 families, though clearance depends on feasibility assessments. Local mayors will lead a new "region-led" approach starting in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, while a Waste Crime Crackdown Group chaired by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle will coordinate regulators and law enforcement to disrupt the gangs behind the trade.