FARMERS and landowners are calling for stronger action to help prevent an increase in fly-tipping which is blighting the countryside.

Latest figures released by Defra show incidents of waste dumped illegally which have been reported to and cleared by local authorities in England have increased by four per cent to 936,000 but action taken against the culprits has fallen by four per cent.

According to the statistics, local authorities in Hampshire dealt with more than 17,000 reported incidents in 2015/16 up from almost 15,000 the previous year.

Cllr Rob Humby, county council executive members for environment, said tipping has declined in Hampshire in the last three months.

But the CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, says the figures do not reflect the true scale of the crime because increasing reports of fly-tipping on private rural land are not included.

CLA regional director Robin Edwards said: “These figures do not tell the full story of this disgraceful behaviour which blights our beautiful countryside. Local authorities tend not to get involved with clearing incidences of fly-tipped waste from private land leaving the landowner to clean up and foot the bill.

“Our members have reported a big increase in fly-tipping on their land. It’s not just the odd bin bag but large household items from unwanted sofas to broken washing machines, building materials and even asbestos being dumped across our countryside.

“Farmers and landowners are forced to clear up somebody else’s rubbish or they risk prosecution for illegal storage of waste. This is simply not right or fair.

“Only when people see evidence of local authorities taking stronger action to combat the scourge of fly-tipping can we hope to see a reversal in this worrying trend.”

The CLA has called on local authorities, the Environment Agency and the police force to commit to stronger action against the increase of fly-tipping on private land by:

1. extending the local government zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping over the festive period into a year-round initiative,

2. ensuring powers to issue fixed penalty notices and/or seize vehicles are used,

3. imposing and enforcing stronger penalties to act as a deterrent,

4. investing time and resources tracking down the culprits, and

5. reducing council fees to legally dispose of waste.

CLA Hampshire member, David Pardoe, who manages a large rural estate on the edge of Portsmouth, with miles of country lanes, says that there is never a day that goes by without a new gate being blocked by waste or rubbish.

“Quite apart from the inconvenience and cost of having to remove and properly dispose of the material before the gate can be used for its intended purpose, there is the additional investment in having to securely gate and lock every opening in every hedge to try to prevent the problem being even worse than it is.”

The CLA says farmers and landowners can go some way to preventing fly-tipped waste on their land by ensuring gates to fields are locked, opening up concealed entrances so they are more visible to passersby, using CCTV in black spots and reporting all instances to the local police force.