A COUPLE were left stranded in their Cliviger farm after a fly-tipper dumped a wagon-load of rubbish on their drive.

The criminals cut through a padlock, opened the farm gate and dropped several mattresses, a bean bag, CDs, DVDs, children’s toys and broken panes of glass at Cowside Farm, off Bacup Road.

Several letters addressed to a house in West Yorkshire were also discovered. Police said they would be making enquiries at the house.

The waste blocked the track to the sheep farm where Pauline and Eddie Whittle have lived and worked for 35 years.

Mrs Whittle said: “Imagine if there was a fire or somebody needed to go to hospital?

“We couldn’t get through. Flytipping is a big problem around here.

“It’s an area out of the way and there’s not a lot of people around so we often get people just dumping rubbish at the side of the road.

“But this time, they’ve actually cut through the padlock to tip it on the farm.

“They’ve cut us off. It’s quite dangerous.”

Mr Whittle said: "It's a really bad thing to do and I hope the police catch whoever has done it."

PCSO Dave Johnson, of Burnley Police, said: “We’re working with the local street team at the council and our colleagues at West Yorkshire Police to find out if the house where the letters are addressed to is where the rubbish has come from.

“We’re also interested in the criminal damage committed by the offender who cut through the combination lock on the gate.

“We think somebody might have paid for a house clearance and instead of the company paying to recycle or scrap the rubbish, they’ve flytipped it and pocketed the cash.

“However enquiries are still ongoing and we would urge anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious in the area at the time to call police on 101.”