Burning waste fly-tipping site blocked off

4 hours ago

Pamela TickellNorth East and Cumbria

News image — Waste has built up at the site in Old Swarland, Northumberland

Environment Agency Rubbish, including paper, clothes and white goods, is piled up around knee-high on a tarmac courtyard next to a white building. The area is bordered by tall trees. There are two white vans parked on the courtyard too. — Waste has built up at the site in Old Swarland, Northumberland

Access to an illegal dump has been blocked off after reports waste had been burned there.

The Environment Agency (EA) said it obtained a court order prohibiting anyone from taking waste to the site at Old Swarland, Northumberland, which now has concrete blocks around it to stop vehicles passing.

Officials said an investigation was continuing into reports of waste dumping and fires burning on the land over recent months.

Area environment manager Gary Wallace said: "Waste crime scars communities, harms the environment and undermines legitimate businesses and landowners."

Environment Agency An environment agency worker, wearing a yellow hi-vis jacket, is knelt in front of a long concrete black, with his arms raised to it. Behind the knee-high block, there is a white caravan surrounded by waste including shards of wood, papers and white goods. — Concrete blocks were erected to block vehicles

The EA said it was granted a restriction order at Bedlington Magistrates' Court on Monday, which will last six months.

The agency said a man had previously been handed a suspended jail sentence in December, following an investigation into illegal waste dumping on the land between July and October 2024.

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