Carpets, cushions, bed frames and mattresses strewn across a country lane give a sad illustration of how the blight of fly-tipping has exploded under the lockdown.
The snap of the mindless act just outside Bolsover, Derbyshire, emerged after the ClearWaste app revealed cases have soared an average 75% – with some London boroughs hit by 100% increases.
The alarming surge was driven by closures of tips and fewer bin collections under the Covid-19 lockdown, plus more waste being generated as self-isolating people did clear-outs, DIY and gardening.
Other shocking images show a dozen bin bags full of household waste and broken electrical goods dumped in an idyllic woodland area in Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire.
And in Dartford, Kent, two lorry loads of tyres were just left by a roadside.
Last weekend, fly-tippers dumped a 7ft pile of tyres, roof felt and insulation panels near a mining memorial in the village of Halmerend, just outside Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire.
It honours more than 150 men and boys killed in England’s worst wartime mining disaster – an underground explosion at the Minnie Pit in 1918.
Dozens of bin bags were also dumped at Soar cemetery in Llanelli, South Wales, this week, while 60 bags filled with broken mirrors, old clothes and household waste were left on the side of the mountains in Ebbw Vale.
Earlier this week, people queued for hours to get rid of weeks of accumulated waste as many recycling centres and tips reopened.
Councils urged only those with waste posing a health or safety risk to visit and shared links to webcams to help residents avoid queues.
Martin Montague, who set up the ClearWaste.com fly-tipping reporting website and app, said: “We’ve seen a huge increase since lockdown.
"It is disgraceful and adds to the burden on police and council workers, not to mention the cost and inconvenience to farmers working hard to keep the nation supplied with milk, meat and vegetables.
“At the moment, householders must store things they’d normally take to a tip.
“Don’t hand unwanted stuff to just any person with a van who offers to remove it for a bit of cash.
"If you do, it will almost certainly end up fly-tipped and you – quite rightly – will get prosecuted.
“Ensure waste is only taken away by a licensed and legitimate company.”
Councillor David Renard, environment spokesman for the Local Government Association, added: “Fly-tipping is never acceptable.”
- You can report fly-tipping at the Gov.uk website
