‘Blighting the landscape’: Cases of New Forest flytipping rise | Meridian | ITV News

Video report by ITV Meridian’s Richard Slee Incidents of flytipping in the New Forest has increased by nearly two thirds. Lockdown is thought to have contributed to the rise in cases because more people had clear outs at the same time that household recycling centres were closed. There were more than 1200 cases of rubbish being dumped in the national park last year, compared to 776 in 2019. cases of flytipping in the New Forest National Park since last Marchpaid by Forestry England to clean up rubbish dumped since March 2020There are few areas in the New Forest unaffected by flytipping.Dozens of old mattresses were dumped near Burley just a couple of weeks ago. In late December, mattresses and tyres were found near Lyndhurst and an old piano was left near Brockenhurst in November last year. Fytipping is more than just a financial cost, as it also “represents a risk” to the ecology of the National Park. Sam Jones, Forestry England said the “selfish acts” of a few people are “blighting the beautiful landscape”. He said: “It’s a very sensitive, special place.It’s a unique combination of wildlife, plants and birds and animal species that live here, and a lot of this landscape is maintained through grazing activities.”Sam Jones, Forestry England Fines are becoming more common for flytipping. New Forest District Council says it’s going to take a tougher line with offenders, and that it will investigate every incident that is reported. The authority is actively looking into one person who’s thought to be responsible for four separate flytipping offences.Colin Read, New Forest District Council said it’s also encouraging people to take more responsibility for what happens to their own rubbish. He said: “They need to use reputable waste carriers and make sure they can justify where their waste is being taken. We are determined to come down hard on those people who feel it is acceptable to flytip in the New Forest.”Colin Read, New Forest District Council New mobile cameras help win the war on fly-tippers Fly-tipping across South East costing councils ‘hundreds of thousands’