Some residents leave bits of unwanted furniture outside their homes in the hope that others will do them a favour by removing them.

They believe they are doing their bit for recycling but the city council has another word for it - fly-tipping.

Recent figures have shown that there were more than 1,400 cases of fly-tipping in the city between April and August.

This is costing taxpayers more than £68,000, or £447 a day, but only 158 cases were investigated - a small fraction of the total number of cases.

And out of these 158 cases no-one has been taken to court, with only seven people receiving notices which could lead to a court appearance and a £1,000 fine.

The figure of incidents investigated seem incredibly low and we can only assume that it must be because of lack of evidence - or resources. But something seriously needs to change to bring fly-tippers to justice.

But, regardless of the small number of investigations, it's unbelievable that so far, no-one has been prosecuted, and it is now time for the council to get tough with repeat offenders.

If they expect people to change their view about dumping rubbish on our streets, the council must make an example of a resident, or a local firm which is breaking the law. Only then might it start to see a reduction in the number of incidents.

The council may be concerned about the legal costs of pursuing cases through the courts but the "softly, softly" approach is no longer working, and offenders need to be dealt with more severely.

The vast majority of residents take pride in their neighbourhoods and would not dump stuff in the street.

But as our story shows, there are those who are quite happy to litter the streets with anything from old furniture to barrels of acid.

This is a good time of year to visit the tip - but don't dump your stuff outside the gates on Christmas Day - you could be caught on CCTV for fly-tipping.