MORE than 900 cases of flytipping have been reported in Tendring in the space of a year according to the latest figures with concerns being raised over the financial squeeze dumped rubbish is putting on farmers.

DEFRA has revealed the number of flytipping incidents reported across the East of England.

Tendring had 920 incidents, of which 42 were on agricultural land - the highest across the region.

While rubbish dumped on highways is the responsibility of Tendring Council, private land owners, including farmers, have to foot the bill to remove items dumped on their sites.

Viv Vivers, of Farmers and Mercantile Insurance Brokers, said the true scale of flytipping on East of England farmland is not reflected in the figures, as the DEFRA statistics excludes the majority of private-land incidents.

She said: “Flytipping is a blight on our countryside, but dumped waste is not only visually impactful and a nuisance – it can be a source of pollution and cause harm to humans, animals and the environment.

“This year’s DEFRA figures show that it is not only everyday household waste that gets dumped by flytippers – thousands of incidents involve asbestos, clinical waste and chemical and fuel waste.”