06 Feb 2026
Bigger fines and the threat of prison sentences are needed to tackle the scourge of fly-tipping blighting farms across the district.
That’s the demand of Harpenden farmer Will Dickinson in the wake of calls by the House of Lords for urgent changes in how police and councils respond to large-scale waste crime.
The Lords’ environment and climate change committee has recommended an independent inquiry into the issue, saying it is drastically under-prioritised despite costing the economy around £1bn every year.
Last summer more than 200 tonnes of fly-tipping was dumped on an arable farm on the outskirts of St Albans, including asbestos, clinical waste, oil, timber and office furniture, as well as what appeared to be reports and other pupil records cleared from the house of a deceased school teacher.
The total bill for clearing the site is estimated in the region of £40,000, and is not covered by any sort of insurance.
The landowner wishes to remain anonymous, so his fight for justice has been taken up by NFU member Will, who runs neighbouring Cross Farm.
He said: “It is a significant amount of money to spend as a victim of crime, and it is iniquitous when compared to the usual fines handed out by the courts, which are in the region of £1,000.
“You can go to prison for writing a few lines of text on social media so why are the courts not cracking down on fly-tippers? The judiciary needs to stand up and properly penalise perpetrators instead of the two-tier justice which we are currently seeing occur.
“The law allows for unlimited fines and up to five years imprisonment, and until this is enforced then fly-tipping on this scale simply won’t stop.”
St Albans MP Daisy Cooper has previously asked the Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the Government would consider creating a single body to tackle the issue nationwide.
She said this week: “The size of this clear-up bill is outrageous, especially given that it falls to the victim of the crime to foot the bill.
“I’ll be writing to Ministers to raise this issue again, and urge them to work with the Environment Agency and insurance companies to develop an urgent solution to stop victims being left to bear the costs of illegal fly-tips.
“I know that the Lib Dem-run St Albans district council has continued to fund fly-tipping investigations and have pushed many cases to a successful conclusion – even if this isn’t something they’re legally required to do. But given how patchy this is beyond St Albans and even across the rest of Hertfordshire, I hope Ministers reconsider our demands for the creation of a single national reporting body.”
Neighbouring Harpenden MP Victoria Collins added: “Fly-tipping is a stain on our rural communities. Farmers are being targeted by criminal gangs who treat their land as a dumping ground. This isn’t just an eyesore, it’s an environmental crime that threatens livelihoods and our countryside.
“Our farmers are doing the right thing, working hard to feed our nation and care for our land. They deserve better protection from those who abuse our rural areas with impunity.
“The current system leaves farmers to bear the financial and emotional burden of clearing up after criminals, which is simply wrong.
“That’s why I have met with police officers, farmers, and members of the National Farmers Union to understand the full impact of fly-tipping and what action is being taken to tackle it. Following these discussions, myself and my Liberal Democrat colleagues are calling for urgent action: a national fly-tipping hotline for residents to report incidents quickly and easily, and for the National Crime Agency to crack down on the organised gangs behind this environmental vandalism. Our rural communities and the farmers deserve nothing less.”
Chris Traill, SADC strategic director for community and place delivery said: “We very much sympathise with the farmer who is the victim of the worst fly-tip we have encountered in recent years.
“Our role has been to investigate this criminal act in order to identify and take action against those responsible.
“It is one of the most challenging investigations we have undertaken, not helped by the site being compromised before our enquiries got underway.
“However, our environmental enforcement team has made substantial progress.
“They have now interviewed more than 20 people of interest under caution.
“We have also secured more than 100 pieces of evidence after sifting through the 40 or so tonnes of waste that was dumped on the land.”
Chris added: “Fly-tipping is a blight on the landscape, a potential health hazard and often very costly to clear up.
“We will not hesitate to take action against offenders such as issuing Fixed Penalty Notice fines or prosecuting the most serious ones in court.
“We also work with partners, including our waste contractor Veolia and Waste Aware Hertfordshire, to campaign against fly-tipping and make people aware of their responsibilities.”
