Fly-tipping now part of rural life, says Warwickshire farmer

A farmer whose nephew filmed a van driver dumping waste in a lane near his business said fly-tipping has become part of rural life.

The man was captured on camera leaving rubbish by Charlie Goadby's farm, near Ansley village, north Warwickshire, at about 21:30 BST on Monday.

Mr Goadby reported the incident to North Warwickshire Borough Council, which said it was investigating.

The farmer said fly-tipped rubbish blocked gates and harmed wildlife.

"Down this lane, it happens around once a fortnight, but a lot more in the local area," Mr Goadby said.

It was the farmer's nephew Edward who spotted and then filmed the man fly-tipping, as he was the passenger in a vehicle coming back from working in a nearby field.

Charlie Goadby worries rubbish may be dumped on to his fields one day and contaminate crops

The farmer said due to fly-tipping being such a problem in the area, he worried it may one day contaminate his crops.

"If it was dumped on potatoes there is real risk of contamination, from shards of glass, and we get a lot of drug paraphernalia.

"We'd have to write off the crop," Mr Goadby said.

The farmer reported it to police who told him as fly-tipping is a civil matter, he would have to take it up with his local authority.

He said for fly-tipping like this to stop, he believed it should be a criminal matter as there was currently no deterrent like "litter picking, fines or community service" to stop people from doing it.

"As farmers this is our garden, we take great pride in it looking nice and looking after the wildlife.

Mr Goadby is also concerned about wildlife suffering harm because of the dumped waste

"It's a mess, you see all sorts of animals tangled up in plastic, it's awful," Mr Goadby said.

North Warwickshire Borough Council said fly tipping "is an extremely serious offence which the council work extremely hard to combat and have zero tolerance on".

It urged residents to check when then they pay for someone to dispose of their rubbish, to make sure they have a waste carriers licence.