Clean-up costs £18,000 for Claverley farmer hit by fly-tipping
Lock up your farm and don't take it for granted that you're secure – that is the warning from a farmer forced to pay an £18,000 bill after fly-tippers dumped 100 tonnes of waste on his land.
Andrew Nicholls discovered the semi-processed rubbish on Hill End Farm in Claverley, near Bridgnorth, and was faced with the challenge and cost of removing it.
The mountains of waste had blocked access to his sheep and to some of his important tools.
His gate was locked and he thought his land was secure, but fly-tippers broke into his yard to dump the shredded and sorted rubbish.
The farmer said that they had then tied the gate shut to give the impression that it was still closed and throw off any suspicion.
Investigations are now going ahead, with the Environment Agency saying they're examining to see if it is linked with other large scale fly-tipping incidents in the county.
Mr Nicholls said he didn't understand why it had happened to them.
"It cost us up to £18,000 to clear somebody else's rubbish," he said.
"That's our farm subsidy gone, that's our working capital gone. It's becoming impossible to police it.
"We're the innocent party here. Everywhere was secure, and now we've had this tremendous bill. In all seriousness, if this happens again, that would be us finished."
It took two lorries more than five hours to remove all the waste from Mr Nicholl's land yesterday.
"It anybody has a green lane, a track or a yard and it only has a chain or lock on it, you're very vulnerable," he said.
"I don't think people realise how at risk they are. They're busy and they've got other things to think about. They see it in the media, but it's different when it happens to you. Be careful. Be vigilant."
Mr Nicholls said that now that the waste is cleared he can continue on as normal, but he is worried that whoever left the waste could return.
"At least we can get to the stock now that it's gone, but the whole thing. I'm worried that they might come back. You hear horror stories about them finding a place and then keep coming back.
"We haven't done anything wrong, and we're not getting any help from anywhere."
Because it was left on private land, Mr Nicholls was left to find a quote for the waste's removal and then pay for it himself.
Despite that, he praised the efforts of the Environment Agency and Shropshire Council.
He said they were very supportive and offered a number of helpful suggestions for businesses that could help clear the 100 tonnes of rubbish.
It is believed that the fly-tipped struck in the early hours of the morning on Friday. The spot where the rubbish was left is in a very rural area and there are no nearby houses where neighbours would be aware of lorries coming and going.
The Environment Agency are now investigating to see if there is a link between the incident on Hill End Farm and other large scale fly-tipping in the area.
That includes three lorry-loads of rubbish that were dumped on a track at the Enville Estate on the Shropshire border.
There may also be links with the mountains of rubbish left on the Network Rail land off the A4169, near Horsehay.
Hundreds of tonnes of rubbish, including discarded family photographs and bills, were left near to a signal box run by Telford's Steam Railway.
Nina Finch, a spokeswoman for the Environment Agency, said they were asking members of the public to be "vigilant".
She said: "Please contact us with information on anything suspicious as long as it is safe for people to do so.
"Dumping commercial waste like this is a crime. Individuals involved in such illegal activity can be hostile and we would urge members of the public to not put themselves in any danger if they encounter such criminal activity and to avoid any direct contact with the culprits.
"If members of the public see anything suspicious , especially involving larger tipper vans or lorries loaded with waste, please contact our incident hot line on 0800 807060, or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
