First the good news: Fly-tipping appears to be on the slide in Oxfordshire, with fewer recorded incidents of dumped rubbish.

Now the bad news: Idiots still blight our countryside with fridges, freezers and all manner of household waste.

Two years ago, we found enough rubbish on the roads around the city to create a shabby living room.

Carpets, chairs, a television and a DVD player were among a haul of 'goods' found within an hour of leaving our offices in Osney Mead.

Today, the picture seems better - and that in part is due to the authorities cracking down on this most ignorant of crimes.

True, there are more pressing concerns in our society, but few can match the thoughtfulness of dumping trash on somebody else's property.

Simply picture the effort involved.

These individuals, with barely a brain cell to rub together, load up their waste - the majority of which can be disposed cleanly and for free at any number of waste depots in and around the city - and drive around the countryside in their white vans looking for convenient places to shove their rusty washing machines.

Quite apart from the fact it probably costs far more in fuel than a trip to Redbridge, the results cause an eyesore.

In many picturesque parts of the city - country roads, mainly - mountains of tyres, builders' waste, white goods and rubble litter the scene like barnacles on a ship's hull.

Fortunately, fly-tippers are on the backfoot thanks to a series of prosecutions in which covert CCTV cameras have been used to gather evidence.

And old-fashion techniques, like trawling through waste to garner clues, are still being employed.

It takes breathtaking arrogance to unload rubbish at random spots on the roadside.

But many of these individuals barely have anything of substance between their ears - let alone a conscience.