RURAL campaigners who have spent the past year cataloguing cases of flytipping in Essex are calling for the Government to step in and help land owners with the cost of waste dumped on their property.

The Essex branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPREssex) joined forces with the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) to identify those areas blighted by flytipping – an illegal, damaging and dangerous practice that is increasingly prevalent in the rural parts of the county.

Over the past year, the county’s farmers and land owners have registered 1,148 cases of flytipping, with many of the victims reported numerous, ongoing, or frequent flytipping. This data has been compiled to produce a list of hotspots.

The groups will officially launch the Essex Flytipping Report at Bovingdon Hall, near Braintree on February 10 and they have invited MPs, councillors, members of the farming community and CPREssex volunteers to help raise awareness of their cause.

Based on the data they have gathered, the groups are vowing to track down those responsible for flytipping whilst calling for a change in the law to protect the innocent victims of fly-tipping.

Tony Middleton, campaigns and development manager for CPREssex, said: “If flytipping occurs on a farmer’s land they are responsible for clearing it up which seems very unfair. They have to foot the expense and the time involved to clear it up. Ultimately we are looking to influence a change in legislation.”

Explaining the extent of the problem, CPREssex chairman Tom Holme said: “Waste including household rubbish and tyres, asbestos and demolition material, fridges and washing machines is being dumped all over the Essex countryside. Not only does this create a hazard and an eyesore, but farmers and land owners who find this waste on their tracks, gateways and fields have to pay for the costs of the clear-up, which can run into hundreds and on occasions thousands of pounds.

“I hope this report will highlight the increasing menace of flytipping and will deter those who prefer to spoil our countryside rather than disposing of their waste responsibly.”

CLA East Director Nicola Currie explained that the eyesores left behind by those who dump their waste in the countryside is deterring tourists as well as posing a threat to livestock.

She added: “Our members tell us fly-tipping is becoming more and more of a problem. They are sick of spending time and cash cleaning up and they are offended by the lack of respect given to the countryside they own and manage. The problems go beyond the direct costs and relate to pollution, tourism, health and safety and risks to livestock.”

NFU Essex county chairman Robert Stacey joined the debate, he said: “Fly-tipping is a burden on farmers and the wider community. It affects wildlife and it despoils our county’s beautiful countryside. Far too often, it’s the farmer or landowner who has to pay to clear up someone else’s mess and a change in the law is long overdue.”