Two months on and a huge illegal waste tip near Harborough still has not been cleaned up

A huge illegal waste tip on a dairy farm at a pretty Harborough village should be urgently cleaned up, a council leader has declared.

Cllr Patricia Hobson spoke out two months after the gigantic dumping ground scandal on the edge of Husbands Bosworth was revealed by the Harborough Mail.

Both the Environment Agency (EA) and Leicestershire County Council, which owns Firs Farm, say they are still carrying out an investigation into the eco-crime.

But Cllr Hobson, chair of Husbands Bosworth Parish Council, told the Mail: “Cleaning up this mess doesn’t appear to have started yet – and that’s not good enough.

“Villagers here are understandably anxious for this waste to be tackled and dealt with.”

She added: “I realise that both the Environment Agency and county council have got a lot of other things to do at the moment.

“But it would have been nice to at least have been given a start date for this operation by now.”

Local residents fear tons of dangerous “contaminated waste” have been buried at the 105-acre farm on the western side of Welford Road to the south of Husbands Bosworth.

“We have been told that there’s no toxicity in the waste dumped there at Firs Farm.

“But then I wonder how they would know that if they’ve not started digging down and clearing up yet,” said Cllr Hobson.

She said the hated dump, within yards of villagers’ allotments, is still frequently stinking out Husbands Bosworth by giving off a pungent odour.

“We are still getting a strong smell, like rotten eggs, sweeping across the village.

“It depends on which way the wind’s blowing,” said Cllr Hobson.

“But it’s very unpleasant.

“And, of course, it reminds us that the problem is still very much there.

“We are also getting litter blown into our village from the rubbish piled up there.

“People here are concerned about it and we want it sorting out as soon as possible.”

An Environment Agency spokesperson told the Mail: “We are working with Harborough District Council and Leicestershire County Council to accelerate the clean-up and remediation of the site.

“Our investigation, which remains a priority, is ongoing.”

The Mail understands that the complex multi-agency inquiry is “likely to take a number of months” and stretch on into the summer.

A Leicestershire County Council spokeswoman said: ​“We are working closely with the Environment Agency and Harborough District Council as they continue their investigations.

“The public should be assured that we are prepared to begin the clean-up process at the earliest opportunity.”

The Mail has been told that the county council has not yet received the Environment Agency’s investigation report so does not yet know what’s been buried.

Firs Farm was sealed off by security officers after the EA and county council were tipped off about the ecological crisis in February.

The male tenant who was renting the county council’s farm is believed to have vanished just days before the drama blew up.

One furious villager, who didn’t want to be named, told the Mail in February: “The stink is absolutely horrendous.

“You can actually smell this place in the village, hundreds of yards away.

“It really gets up your nose and into your mouth and makes you want to gag.”

He added: “The whole farm smells of death and decay – it’s horrible and disgusting.

“I’ve been told dead cattle have just been left to rot and decay on the land.

“This is a serious health hazard.

“You can also see a mini-mountain of plastic trash and other rubbish piled up high near the farm buildings themselves.

“None of the local people can believe what’s gone on here at a farm on the edge of Husbands Bosworth.

“It’s outrageous.”