Warning to landowners as fly-tipping incidents in Mansfield rise

According to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) there were 2,067 fly-tipping incidents recorded in Mansfield in 2020/21, up from 1,407 during the previous 12 months.

Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, from rural insurance broker Lycetts, said: “Fly-tipping is an unwelcome blight on our countryside and can represent far more than an inconvenience to victims of the crime.

“Incidents not only pose significant environmental and human health risks, but also a legal and financial burden for farmers and landowners.

“Although local authorities will usually pay the clean-up costs of clearing waste from public land, the responsibility for removing waste from private land falls squarely at the feet of the landowners.

"If they fail to do so, they can face prosecution.”

Clean-up bills per incident average around £1,000, according to the National Rural Crime Network, but large-scale incidents can cost upwards of £10,000.

Mr Wailes-Fairbairn said: “In some cases, farmers can be repeatedly targeted and costs can quickly escalate.

“Many combined farm policies, however, will cover the clean-up costs, typically capped between £10,000 and £15,000 for the insurance period.”

Ashfield however has bucked the trend and has seen a decrease in incidents with 891 in 2020/21, compared to 901 in 2019/20.

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