Farmer faces £350,000 bill to clear up huge fly-tip
Alex SellA farmer said he was "flabbergasted" to find 2,000 tonnes of waste had been fly-tipped on to his land.
As the landowner, fifth generation farmer Alex Sell could be prosecuted if he does not take responsibility for the £350,000 clean-up bill.
The mess - which consisted of processed plastic, wood and stone - was dumped across 10 acres (4 ha) in North Stifford, near Grays, Essex.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We are investigating this incident and will do everything possible to trace those suspected of being involved."
They urged anyone with information to contact the agency's incident hotline.
Criminals smashed the padlock off a gate to gain access to the field, off Arterial Road, before replacing it with their own, Sell said.
Tall maize crops growing in the field helped to cover some of the waste, which meant it remained undetected for weeks.
Alex Sell"We'd driven past it a few times without realising that anything had happened," Sell, a livestock and arable farmer, told BBC Essex presenter Sonia Watson.
"We got further and further into the field and we were flabbergasted. It was gut-wrenching to see.
"Every bit further you went [you saw] another pile that had been tipped."
'Immoral'
Two-hundred tonnes of maize silage - which Sell was growing to feed his cattle - was destroyed by the rubbish being dumped on it.
Despite being targeted by criminals, Sell, as the landowner, could be prosecuted if he fails to clear up the mess.
He said some firms had quoted him up to £350,000 to do so, but, ultimately, his insurance would pay the bill.
Neil Hudson, the Conservative MP for Epping Forest and shadow environment minister, said it was "not right" that farmers like Sell were having to pay.
He said they were the victims of criminals who "illegally blighted and polluted with their industrial and immoral fly-tipping".
Essex Police said it was investigating a report of fly-tipping and criminal damage on Sell's land.
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