Councillors in a neighbouring authority are blaming Bradford Council for an increase in fly-tipping following the introduction of permits at all household tips in the district last year.

But the Bradford councillor in charge of the environment has insisted the permit scheme is working and that Leeds residents’ waste is not Bradford’s responsibility.

The controversial scheme has already been blamed for an increase in waste being dumped illegally in Bradford, but now Pudsey councillors are pointing the finger too.

Bradford Council began issuing residents’ permits at tips a year ago in a bid to stop people from neighbouring districts using them and by doing so hoped to save tens of thousands of pounds a year.

Critics argued that the permits would simply drive up the amount of fly-tipping, but while figures for Bradford revealed earlier this year that the number of complaints and clean-ups were both up, the actual volume of rubbish being fly-tipped was down.

Now Pudsey councillors are demanding action to stop the blight in their ward – with Bradford’s residents permit scheme under fire.

Councillor Josie Jarosz (Lab, Pudsey) said the problem had become a serious issue in areas such as Tyersal in recent weeks.

Residents on the Leeds side of the local authority border would ordinarily use a tip in Bradford, as it would be closer than the nearest in Pudsey, she said.

“The increase in fly-tipping seems to have coincided with the introduction of permits in Bradford, and we’ve had a number of complaints from residents.

Councillor Richard Lewis (Lab, Pudsey) added that there needed to be a discussion about the way forward.

The problem has arisen in areas that would traditionally use Bowling Back Lane tip in Bradford, he said.

However, Councillor Andrew Thornton, Bradford’s executive member for the environment, said that Bradford council taxpayers should not be picking up the bill for Leeds residents’ household waste.

“The permit scheme has achieved what was intended in that it has reduced the number of people from outside of the district using Bradford’s household waste sites, therefore it’s also producing a saving for Bradford council taxpayers.”

He added that figures showed the largest reduction in the volume of waste at the authority’s tips was at those in Keighley, Queensbury and Low Moor, as people from Craven, Calderdale and Kirklees no longer had access to the sites.

Almost 70,000 of the permits have been issued since their introduction.