A farmer has hit out at the ”thoughtlessness” of whomever was responsible for fly-tipping on his access road.
Rowell Fraser (51), of Grantsmuir Farm, near Kirkcaldy, was shocked to discover a considerable quantity of household waste had been strewn over 500 yards of his road, apparently dumped under cover of darkness before 9.30pm on Monday.
Dumped material included a two-seater settee, plasterboard and wallpaper, which suggested to him it had been dumped by someone carrying out a house clearance.
Mr Fraser told The Courier: ”To be honest, if I’d seen them dumping it, I’d have been after them. It’s extremely annoying, the thoughtlessness of it all.
”If you ask me, it’s ill-educated people who do this. I’d be surprised if they can count to three.”
Mr Fraser said there had been recent problems in nearby Balbeggie Avenue. Other farmers had also had problems with material being dumped next to field gates.
Mr Fraser phoned Fife Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) yesterday morning.
Last night, as it emerged there was potential evidence within the dumped materials that pointed towards an address in Kirkcaldy.
Elaine Devine, Fife Council Environment Service manager, said: ”It is the responsibility of landowners to remove fly-tipped waste from their land.
”Our environmental enforcement officers investigate all such incidents and, if the perpetrator can be found, either a fixed penalty notice will be issued or the matter will be reported to the procurator fiscal.
”While the council is not responsible for the removal of fly-tipped waste from private ground, we do what we can to assist landowners by, for example, making arrangements for access to one of our recycling centres for disposal purposes free of charge.
”There is no excuse for dumping in the countryside or anywhere else in Fife where residents and businesses alike have access to a number of recycling centres,” she added.
A spokesperson for Sepa said: ”We have received a report of fly-tipping at a farm in Kirkcaldy and have liaised with Fife Council regarding further investigation into the complaint.”
A spokesman for Fife Police said Fife Council would be the lead agency in prosecuting such matters.