Dog walker describes fly-tip in rural Harborough as 'sickening'

A dog-walker has described fly-tipping as a ‘brutal onslaught’ after repeatedly walking by rubbish dumped on rural land near Market Harborough.

The heap of rubbish includes a miscellany of unwanted items from a shovel, a kid’s pop-up tent to carpets, a dog bowl and food waste. The heap is buried under greenery and chopped up trees.

The spot, off the main A4304, is almost the same as where five mattresses were dumped, reported on by the Mail in 2020.

The dog-walker said: “This is disgusting.

“The offenders have come along and blatantly dumped a whole load of rubbish on a lovely patch of land in a picturesque rural spot on the edge of Market Harborough.

“It’s absolutely sickening.

“Why do the idiots who did this think it’s all right to wreck and desecrate our beautiful local countryside?

“Why did they not take their lorryload of waste to the council tip in Market Harborough instead of launching yet another brutal onslaught on our wonderful environment?

“Everything from a shovel to a kids’ pop-up police tent, old carpets, chairs, a dog’s bowl, bottles, cans, food waste, bits of wood and building debris has been offloaded and stacked up.

“The culprits must have used a truck or a van to ferry their mountain of rubbish on to this unspoilt land before tipping it.

“I just hope that the district council can work with the landowner to try to track down the ecological vandals who did this – and that they will be punished for this crime against our environment.”

If caught, fly-tippers will be automatically fined £300 by the council. If prosecuted, perpetrators could face up to five years in jail, an unlimited fine or both.

Councillor Jonathan Bateman, portfolio holder for waste, environment and planning, said: “Fly-tipping is illegal and will not be tolerated. We are leading the way on busting this type of crime to keep the Harborough district cleaner and greener.

“Our environmental crime officers check waste carriers are registered, use CCTV to monitor, patrol hot spot areas regularly and work closely with the police and rural crime team.”

The council has confirmed the fly-tip is on private land and the issue has been handed to planning enforcement.

Visit www.harborough.gov.uk/tip-off to report a fly-tip.