A national association is calling for tougher punishment for fly-tipping on rural land. 

The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has put forward new proposals on how to deal with illegally dumped waste across farmland in Britain, suggesting that seizing vehicles must be a default penalty for the crime. 

Government data reveals that 14 separate incidents of fly-tipping on agricultural land were reported in West Dorset, Weymouth and Portland from 2015 to 2016, with 891 fly-tipping incidents reported on all types of land across the both areas. 

CLA South West director John Mortimer said: “Fly-tipping is not a victimless crime. 

“Private landowners are fed up with clearing away other people’s rubbish - and then paying for the privilege of doing so - but if they don’t act, they risk prosecution for illegal storage of waste. 

“It is not just the odd bin bag that is being fly-tipped but everything from commercial waste, builders’ waste and even hazardous waste, and all of it going on because the perpetrators know they can get away with it.”

Mr Mortimer said the problem is “not going to go away” and agrees that harsher punishments are needed to tackle the problem. 

He added: “We need to see tougher penalties which act as a true deterrent.

“Increased costs of commercial disposal coupled to changes in domestic refuse collections have combined to aggravate the problem. 

“There are issues beyond the direct costs which relate to pollution, tourism, health and safety and risks to livestock as well as the wider aesthetic impact. The law, as it stands, is unfair to land managers who have already made every attempt to keep fly-tippers out.”

The CLA has launched a five-point action plan that it believes should be adopted to tackle the menace of fly-tipping damaging the countryside.

As well as seizing vehicles to act as a deterrent, the CLA recommends enforcing fines for home and business owners whose waste is found in fly-tipped locations, and appointing a ‘Fly-Tipping Tsar’ to co-ordinate with national agencies on the scale of the crime. 

The plan also proposes ways to clear up the waste and support victims to ensure that landowners are not liable, as well as educating the public about anti-social behaviour. 

The CLA’s full action plan can be found on its website.