A Hertfordshire farmer is “devastated” after more than 200 tons of waste has been illegally dumped on his land, leaving a 40,000-pound cleanup bill.
Over 40 truck loads remained on the arable land near St. Albans for three nights starting June 7th.
The incident is considered to be the work of organized criminals, causing both economic hardships and environmental damage.
“This is not covered by insurance and there’s no way I can pay for this. I don’t know what I’m trying to do,” said the farmer who wanted to remain anonymous.
“There is a week of work here to clear everything. I have a fly tip here every week, but I have never had it on this scale.
“Agriculture is hard enough at this point and I know that many other farmers in Hertfordshire have industrial-scale fly tips on their land.
“The situation is getting worse and disrupts our ability to produce food and care in the country.”
Discarded materials include dangerous items such as asbestos, cannabis waste, wood, and office furniture.
Garbage destroyed parts of the land that it was dedicated to supporting farmland birds and biodiversity as part of the government’s sustainable agricultural incentive scheme.
Farmers, like many others, are legally responsible for removing waste. This is the burden of spending tens of millions of pounds a year on British farmers and landowners.
In response to this incident, the NFU is calling for urgent action from the government to deal with the growing crisis.
“We’re accused of the NFU County in Hertfordshire,” said Josh Redford, NFU County Advisor in Hertfordshire.
“NFU has taken a very proactive approach to address this and is working closely with local governments and stakeholders.”
“We are calling for an urgent meeting with all Hertfordshire district council leaders as our next step.
“We are determined to fight for our members and to prevent the person responsible from preventing others from committing this serious and harmful crime while also being able to go to trial.”
The NFU has contacted the deputy leaders of St. Albans MP and liberal Democratic Daisy Cooper to raise the issue and works with the Hertfordshire Police, the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC), and the Environment Agency.
We are applying for financial support to farmers through the PCC’s Fly Tipping Fund, which supports victims of such crimes.
Nearby farmer Will Dickinson has suffered multiple flytip incidents himself and expressed his frustration with the situation.
He states:
“We need to look at the full range of laws used to properly punish those who do this. When they get caught, flytippers are often fined less than the cost of skipping.”
“The farmers, who are victims of crime, are being ordered to clean up their waste and pay thousands of pounds, which is a totally unfair and justice tragedy.
“This has widespread consequences and is the devastation of our countryside.”
Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash Edward also condemned the incident, calling it “disgrace.”
“Flytips of this size are often associated with organized crime gangs who benefit significantly from these illegal activities.
“I fully support the biggest sentence that could be imposed on a criminal when taken to court.”
The latest report by NFU Mutual shows that the cost of rural crime in Hertfordshire increased by 15.5% to £1.23 million in 2024.
However, the cost of rural crime across the UK fell 16.5% last year to an estimated £44.1 million.
