Farmer faces £40k bill after 200t of rubbish was dumped on his land
23rd June 2025
A Hertfordshire farmer may be forced to pay more than £40,000 to clear 200 tonnes of rubbish which was dumped on his arable land.
The farmer estimates that more than 40 lorry loads of rubbish were dumped on a farm located on the outskirts of St Albans over the course of three nights from 7th June 2025. He is now worried about the financial and environmental impact of this rural crime.
With farmers and landowners often legally responsible for removing rubbish, despite being the victim of the crime, the farmer, who wants to remain anonymous, estimates he could be faced with a bill of more than £40,000 and has concerns for wildlife on his farm following the incident.
He said: “It is just devastating. This is not covered by insurance, and there is just no way that I am going to be able to pay this – I don’t know what I am going to do.
“There is a week’s work here to clear it all as well. I have fly-tipping here every week, but I’ve never had it on this scale.
“Farming is hard enough at the moment, and I know many other farmers in Hertfordshire who have had industrial-scale fly-tips on their land. The situation is getting worse, and it disrupts our ability to produce food and care for the countryside.”
Hertfordshire farmers targeted
Asbestos, cannabis waste, timber and office furniture are among the items left on the farm. The farmer explained that the rubbish has ruined an area of land that had been set aside to provide food for farmland birds and improve their numbers through the Sustainable Farming Incentive.
Hertfordshire farmers have been plagued by fly-tipping for many years, with organised criminal gangs dumping industrial-scale tips on farms on a regular basis, the NFU confirmed.
The union is now calling for an urgent meeting with the leaders of all of Hertfordshire’s district councils.
The NFU said it is also working closely with Hertfordshire Police, the police and crime commissioner (PCC) and the Environment Agency and is applying for funding for the farmer through the PCC’s Fly-tipping Fund, which is used to help victims of the crime.
In addition, the union members have written to St Albans MP and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper to raise awareness of the recent incident.
NFU county adviser for Hertfordshire Josh Redford said: “This is another shocking incident of fly-tipping, which is becoming all too common in Hertfordshire. The NFU is taking a very proactive approach to address this and is working closely with local authorities and stakeholders.
“We are calling for an urgent meeting with all district council leaders in Hertfordshire as the next step, and we are determined to fight for our members and ensure the people responsible are brought to justice, at the same time deterring others from carrying out this serious and damaging crime.”
The latest annual Rural Crime Report has recently been published by insurers NFU Mutual. This shows that the cost of rural crime in Hertfordshire rose by 15.5% last year to £1.23m. The cost of rural crime across the UK fell by 16.5% last year to an estimated £44.1m.
‘Completely out of control’ crime
NFU member Will Dickinson, who runs a neighbouring arable farm, has been hit by fly-tipping himself on countless occasions and is supporting the farmer dealing with this incident. He said that fly-tipping in Hertfordshire is “completely out of control”.
“The local authorities are doing their best, but they need to be better resourced. We need to see more arrests and convictions and the full extent of the law used to properly punish the people who do this. When they are caught, the fly-tippers are often given a fine which is less than the cost of a skip.
“The farmers, who are the victims of the crime, are left to pay thousands of pounds clearing the waste, which is completely unfair and a travesty of justice.
“This has far-reaching consequences and is a blight on our countryside,” he continued.
Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards concluded: “Fly-tipping on this scale is a disgrace. It has a huge impact on our countryside and can be financially devastating for victims.
“While local councils have the lead responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of fly-tippers, the police will support councils and the Environment Agency with intelligence capabilities, and this collaborative approach is essential.
“Fly-tips of this magnitude are often linked to organised crime gangs, who profit significantly from these illegal activities. I fully support the maximum possible sentences being imposed on offenders when they are brought before the courts.”
PCC Ash-Edwards confirmed that to support the clean-up of this site and help prevent future incidents, he is exploring whether the incident that happened near St Albans is eligible for support through the Fly-Tipping Fund operated by his office.
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