MORE than 300 agricultural flytipping incidents were reported to North West councils last year.

Around 366 incidents were reported on agricultural land, according to the latest statistics from Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). A total of 48 were recorded in East Lancashire.

There were 24 incidents recorded in Rossendale, the highest place in East Lancashire. Burnley was the second largest with 20 incidents recorded. Four incidents were recorded in Hyndburn. There were no incidents recorded in Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley or Pendle.

But Tony Laking, of Farmers and Mercantile Insurance Brokers (FMIB), said that true scale of flytipping on North West farmland is not reflected in the figures, as the DEFRA statistics excludes the majority of private-land incidents.

Laking, who advises farmers in the North West, 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."