A pair of fly-tippers who dumped piles of rubbish on a country lane were caught red-handed by locals who “trapped” them.
Two men, who drove up to the path in Warwickshire in white vans, started dumping black bin bags and pipes from their vehicles when angry passers-by noticed them.
“Quick-thinking” workers from Packington Estate used their vehicles to form a blockade, preventing the offenders from fleeing the scene.
Warwickshire Police described it as “some of the worst fly-tipping we had seen in a long time”.
A group of locals noticed the offenders and intervened
Warwickshire Police
Officers made the two fly-tippers clean up their mess before seizing their vans.
Under the Environmental Act, the men risk losing their vehicles and face prosecution.
A farmer’s wife offered cake and tea to the police whilst they waited for the offenders to clean up the rubbish. None were offered to the duo of dumpers.
A post on the Operational Patrol Unit for Warwickshire Police Facebook page said: “We detained two males who were instructed to reload the two vans with all the rubbish dumped.
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Both white vans were seized at the scene
Warwickshire Police
Warwickshire Police described it as 'some of the worst fly-tipping we had seen in a long time'
Warwickshire Police
“We supervised them cleaning up their mess and enjoyed a great cup of tea and slice of homemade cake courtesy of the farmer’s wife. No cake and tea for these two offenders.
“Once the vans were loaded we escorted them off the estate and then seized them under the Environmental Act. Officers from the Warwickshire rural crime team also attended the scene and have now taken on the Investigation and prosecution case against these offenders.”
The Warwickshire local crime team also posted on Facebook: “A local farmer came across offenders illegally dumping a large amount of commercial waste on their land in the Maxstoke area.
“Some very quick-thinking landowners and workers from the estate appropriately positioned their own vehicle, in such a way that meant the offenders had no way of leaving the scene of the crime.”
A police spokesman added: “Cleaning up the results of fly-tipping is the responsibility of the local council and members of the public who discover incidents of fly-tipping should report it to them directly.”
A farmer's wife brought a homemade cake and hot drinks to the officers
Warwickshire Police
Over a decade ago, residents in the same village tried to stop an illegal traveller site from forming on the road by camping in the area for more than 600 days.
Fly-tipping is a commonly reported crime across the UK, despite the possibility of facing time in prison if caught.
The issue was raised in the House of Commons earlier this month, as MPs questioned the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ministers about the problem.
Tory MP Sir Desmond Swayne suggested a bizarre punishment for offenders.
“The penalties are insufficient. If offenders were garrotted with their own intestines, there’d be fewer of them,” the New Forest West MP said, resulting in a thunder of laughter across the House.