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Fly tipping sites in Falkirk are to be tidied up after the local authority secured funding to tackle the problem.

Falkirk Council is to clean up sites in the Glen Village, a lay-by on the A801 and an area at Langlees after securing grants from Zero Waste Scotland.

It also intends to bring in new measures to prevent fly tipping at those locations in the future.

The authority said it had to remove more than 50 tonnes of illegally dumped refuse in the region during 2011.

Just over £8,000 will be spent clearing 15 years' worth of rubbish from a wooded embankment leading to the canal in Glen Village.

The council will spend £2,980 to remove rubbish from a lay-by near the A801, which has been repeatedly targeted by fly tippers.

Another £4,720 will be used to tidy up an an embankment in Cobblebrae woodland, north of Langlees.

Councillor Dr Craig Martin, convener of environment and community safety, said: "This funding will make a huge difference to these three areas, but more importantly we will be able to put preventative measures in place to stop it happening in the future.

"The Falkirk Council area is well served with two large recycling centres where all forms of waste can be disposed of safely and without harm to the environment."

Anyone caught fly tipping in Scotland faces a penalty of up to £40,000 and a six month prison sentence.