GET a permit if you're binning rubbish at Bispham tip using a van, large trailer or pick-up truck.

That's the message to homeowners from Blackpool Borough Council.

From next week residents dumping household waste using a 'commercial' type vehicle will be asked to surrender one of the free permits each time they visit Blackpool's Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) at Bristol Avenue, Bispham.

The move is part of a bid by the council to stop traders illegally using the site to dump commercial waste, to avoid paying disposal costs of around £35-£50 per tonne, plus landfill tax, which then fall to tax payers.

"The law prohibits trade or commercial waste being disposed of at the HWRC, but there have been incidents of illegal tipping due to vans and pick-up vehicles gaining access onto the site," said a Blackpool council spokeswoman.

To block this, residents must now fill out forms available from Layton Depot, Plymouth Road, Blackpool, FY3 7HW, the HWRC, Bristol Avenue, Bispham, or via the council website at www.blackpool.gov.uk if they want to dispose of a large amount of waste.

Applications should be processed in two working days said the council's cleansing department, though online application forms state the process takes 'at least two working days'.

The new scheme has prompted some public concern that people who find they have underestimated the number of permits they need could choose to dump rubbish rather than wait for another permit.

Cllr Fred Jackson, Blackpool's portfolio holder for the urban environment, said: "We don't want to discourage people from taking their waste to the tip if it is genuine household waste.

"If somebody is in the situation of clearing a house, if they feel two permits is not going to be enough when they apply and they explain the details each case will be judged on its own merit and they perhaps may be able to acquire a third permit."

Ingthorpe ward councillor Michael Bradley-Wilcox added that permits, including additional ones, should be issued quickly and that the scheme would save taxpayers picking up tradesmen's bills.