AI CCTV cameras set to tackle Birmingham fly-tipping

The AI cameras work by detecting suspected dumped rubbish and automatically alerting the council

New CCTV cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology have been installed in a bid to tackle fly-tipping.

Birmingham City Council has put up three of the devices in Aston, Erdington and Edgbaston.

The technology works by detecting images of dumped rubbish and automatically alerting the authority.

Councillor Majid Mahmood said the cameras would help staff to better monitor fly-tipping hotspots.

That breakthrough, he explained, was down to the technology helping the council avoid manually reviewing hours of recorded video footage after a fly-tipping incident.

"Clean streets are a top priority for people of this city," he said. "We've moved everything we can to catch those who have blighted our neighbourhoods."

Councillor Majid Mahmood said clean streets were a "priority" for people in Birmingham

The AI technology has been funded by a £45,000 grant from the government, which aims to crack down on fly-tipping.

The new cameras will be operated under a pilot scheme initially, before being added to a wider pool of CCTV across the city.

At a clean-up operation in Aston, Mr Mahmood said the scheme would enable waste enforcement officers to "do more".

'Pinged alert'

"Now we're using AI, they get an alert pinged to them to say an incident has taken place," he explained.

"We're listening to the residents of the city, they want people caught who blight our neighbourhoods."

He described dumped mattresses and sofas in the area as an "eyesore" that had attracted rodents and other pests.

Nearby resident, Mohammad Rahman, said dumped rubbish on the street had been a constant problem.

He had complained to the council about fly-tipping and rats "so many times", he told BBC Radio WM, but said the new cameras were a "good thing".