Mountains of fly-tipping: As latest figures show more than one million incidents, CLA asks: Where’s the promised crime strategy?

Incidents on public land rise by 6%, with farmers bearing the brunt of thousands more cases
Written by Mike Sims. First published on 26 Feb 2025.
Colin Rayner fly-tipping Berkshire 1

  • Latest stats from Defra reveal there were 1.15 million incidents on public land alone last year, 6% up on previous year
  • New CLA survey shows nearly 95% of respondents believe local authorities need increased resourcing to help fight war on waste
  • Government promised a new rural crime strategy – where is it?, asks CLA

The CLA has challenged the government to launch its rural crime strategy, as new figures reveal how rural communities are being buried under mountains of fly-tipping.

The latest statistics, released today, reveal councils dealt with 1.15 million fly-tipping incidents in 2023/2024, though these figures only account for waste illegally dumped on public land that has been reported to the authorities.

Many fly-tipping incidents occur on privately-owned land, painting an even more damaging picture of the financial burden and environmental impact fly-tipping brings.

It comes as a new snapshot survey of CLA members found that 90% of respondents had been victims of fly-tipping in the last 12 months, with waste such as tyres, cannabis farm vegetation, nitrous oxide canisters, cooking oil drums, mattresses, fridges and sofas dumped on their land.

Almost 40% had experienced at least six separate incidents in the past year, and more than 75% said fly-tipping has a significant financial impact on their business. More than nine in 10 believe local authorities need increased resourcing to help fight the war on waste.

Nearly 12 months ago, before the general election, Labour pledged to establish a rural crime strategy, but it remains unpublished.

'Had enough'

Country Land and Business Association President Victoria Vyvyan said:

“Rural communities have had enough of fly-tipping and waste crime, and the government must act. Farmers and the countryside are increasingly being targeted by organised crime gangs – often violent – who know that rural areas are under-policed and so they target them. The long-promised rural crime strategy needs to be published as soon as possible.

“It’s not just litter blotting the landscape, but tonnes of household and commercial waste which can often be hazardous – even including asbestos and chemicals – endangering farmers, wildlife, livestock, crops and the environment.

“As Labour itself has pointed out, the crime rate in rural areas has surged by 32 per cent since 2011, faster than in urban areas. People, communities and businesses deserve to feel safe and protected, and the first place to start must surely be ending the chronic under-funding of rural police forces."

Last year the CLA lodged FOI requests that revealed many rural areas in England and Wales have no dedicated rural officers, ringfenced police funding, or forces with basic kit such as torches.

The CLA approached 36 police forces operating in rural areas, and found five have no rural crime team, and eight have less than ten dedicated rural officers.

Read the figures here or click below to read testimonies from affected CLA members.

CLA members speak out

Colin Rayner, whose family farm in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey, said: “The Rayner family farms have incidents of fly-tipping every day, from a bag of garden waste to lorry loads of waste.

“We have made our farms into medieval forts to try to reduce large loads of waste been tipped on the farms. The cost to the family in terms of extra security, clearing up the waste and threats from the fly-tipping gangs is too much to bear at times.”

John Giffard, of the Chillington Estate, Staffordshire, said: "Fly-tipping is a recurring issue across Chillington, creating a significant financial strain on both the estate and the council, as well as wasting valuable time and resources.

“Our frustration is heightened by the lack of action from public bodies, especially when we’ve identified the source of the problem.

“The good news is that the local police force has established new rural policing teams in the county’s most remote areas, and we’re encouraged to see that tackling fly-tipping is now a top priority for them.

“Thanks to the continued support of the Country Land and Business Association, Chillington is now collaborating with public bodies to initiate prosecutions against those responsible."

David Bliss, CEO of Lowther Estates in Cumbria, said: “We usually experience five or six fly-tipping incidents per year, which, aside from being an annoyance, is costly to clear up.

“Ministers should look urgently at increasing the penalties for convicted fly-tippers and properly resource rural police forces to ensure they are held to account. Without more progress, landowners, not the criminals, will continue to pay the price.”

George Williams, rural business owner in the West Midlands, said:

“I deal with fly-tipping on our land almost every week. It’s not just small items, but everything from animal carcasses to cannabis waste, and once, 60 tonnes of plastic dumped by a criminal gang.

“Beyond the stress and disruption, the financial cost is staggering. We’ve spent thousands removing waste, installing cameras, and putting up barricades, but it hasn’t stopped the problem.

“We need tougher fines and a more proactive approach from councils to stop these criminals. Otherwise, rural communities will be left paying the price for someone else’s crime.”

Rural Crime

Explore our dedicated hub for more guidance and advice on rural crime