Broken furniture, mattress and building waste dumped at Dartmoor beauty spots

Numerous piles of fly-tipped waste were found by Dartmoor Rangers. 

The rubbish - which included broken furniture, a mattress, and building waste - was found dumped in the popular Haytor and Saddle Tor areas on 3 September.

Dartmoor National Park Authority's Rangers worked with police and the Highways Agency to clear the rubbish and are now being supported by the Environment Agency and police to investigate the incident further. 

Head ranger Simon Lee said “Fly-tipping costs public money to deal with, money which could be better spent elsewhere. It’s really frustrating for us because it’s completely avoidable - dealing with it takes us away from important conservation duties and other agencies away from their key tasks and responsibilities.

"Fly-tipping is dangerous, unpleasant and harmful to the environment, wildlife, grazing livestock and Dartmoor’s delicate biodiversity. We deal with lots of concerns about fly-tipping and would encourage people to report fly-tips to their local council.”

People are being encouraged to come forward with any information by calling 101, using the log 3/9/23/246. 

Rules around fly-tipping:

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted. You could be fined even if you weren’t responsible for it being dumped, so it's important you check that whoever is taking your rubbish away is properly licensed to do so.

You can check if a person/organisation has a waste carrier’s licence here.

Usually, when a fly-tip is on public land it comes under the responsibility of the district council to remove. If you are a private landowner then it is your responsibility to safely dispose of the waste.

When reporting fly-tipping to your local council, the more information you give the better.