A farmer from Berkshire says his land resembles a “medieval fort” as his family try to prevent fly-tipping.
Colin Rayner estimates there is at least one incident of fly-tipping every week on the 2,000 acres of arable land his family owns.
Fridges, gravel and tyres are among the items previously dumped.
Colin said: ”We basically have to build our farm like a medieval fort. We have to put concrete blocks in front of our gates to stop people opening gates and fly-tipping and we have to check our buildings once a day to check they are not filling our buildings up with rubbish. It costs our family tens of thousands of pounds each year.”
The Rayner family have to take the waste to landfill because disposing of waste dumped on private land is the responsibility of the landowner, not local authorities as it is on council land.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) is calling for the government to do more to stop the crime.
The CLA says that there are more cases of rubbish being dumped on private land than ever before in Oxfordshire and Berkshire and money should be available to help fund the clean-up.
The CLA wants the government to help pay some of the cost, estimating that there are at least 40,000 cases of fly-tipping on private land in the Thames Valley every year.
Tim Bamford, Country Land and Business Association, said: “Because we are peri-urban, lots of houses, lots of road networks, we need government at a central level to step up.
“There has to be far greater fines for those criminals that do this. At the moment there are charges at some waste centres.
“We think those should be removed to make it as easy as possible for members of the general public to legally dispose of their waste.”
Organisations such as Forestry England are also plagued by fly-tipping and are urging visitors to help if they can.
Charlotte Belcher, Forestry England, said: ”If you notice anything suspicious, if you see someone dumping waste, it’s really useful to have those reports.
“Quite frequently me or one of my team will be at a site dealing with some waste and someone will drive past and say ‘I saw this on this date’ and it’s really useful to have all those pieces of the puzzle.
“We can work with our partners and the police to follow up those leads.”
Some farmers such as Colin Rayner also believe a planned rise in landfill charges will only encourage more illegal dumping.
People are encouraged to only use licenced contractors to take waste away.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said: “Fly-tipping is a criminal offence which blights communities and the countryside.
“That’s why we are helping councils tackle fly-tipping head on – including on the spot fines of up to £1,000 and powers to stop, search, and seize vehicles suspected of being used for fly-tipping.”
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