A Hammerwich farmer has taken matters into his own hands after piles of rubbish were dumped at an entrance to his land.
Clive Bailye, of TWB Farms in Hammerwich, was left with a clean-up job after bags of waste were left near a gate.
But after finding a letter with a name and address on amongst the dumped waste, he took to social media to share a picture of it – and ask for the rubbish to be removed.
The move saw criticism from some social media users, but the farmer insisted that he had taken the action after becoming frustrated with regular incidents of rubbish being dumped. He posted:
“If you had to deal with this almost everyday, I think you might feel the same.
“The countryside is there for recreation, wildlife and to put food on the shop shelves, not an open tip that we are expected to clear up because others can’t be bothered.
“This environmental vandalism needs to be stopped.”
Clive Bailye
The farmer’s post comes after Lichfield District Council reported a rise of more than a quarter in fly-tipping across Lichfield and Burntwood during the coronavirus lockdown.
“People seem to have very little respect”
Mr Bailye told Lichfield Live dumping of rubbish around his farm had always been a problem, but had grown in recent weeks.
“It’s a big issue for us that we have to deal with.
“It’s always been an issue but does seem worse lately – people seem to have very little respect for the countryside, environment or those that have to clear it up.
“Quite often the fly-tipping is on our land rather than the gateway or roadside and then the clean up and disposal cost becomes ours.”
Clive Bailye
Lichfield District Council said incidents of fly-tipping on private land had gone up by 30% in April compared to the previous year.
Cllr Angela Lax, cabinet member for legal and regulatory services, said people needed to consider the impact of their actions when disposing of rubbish.
“We know the vast majority of our residents are responsible with their waste, and will be just as disappointed as we are to hear of the increase in fly-tipping that we’re experiencing at the moment.
“It’s really important to keep the district tidy, and our teams have been working hard to retain a full waste and recycling collection service.”
Cllr Angela Lax, Lichfield District Council
A spokesperson for Lichfield District Council confirmed they were “investigating this case, following a number of leads and discussing clean-up options”.
