A mother was forced to walk her two young children half a mile after the road to her home was blocked off by fly tippers.
Nicola Gray was attempting to return to her cottage near Auchtertool on Tuesday afternoon when the country lane to her home was impeded by a pile of rubble.
Unable to remove the debris, Nicola, 35, and her two children, aged four and seven, were forced to walk to their home, just off the B925 Kirkcaldy to Auchtertool road.
Her sister, Lana Nielsen, said: “My sister went shopping and left the house at around 12pm, so it must have happened between then and around 2.30pm.
“It’s just so brazen, especially to do this in broad daylight.
“Luckily a neighbour came and helped walk them up the road and through the puddles.
“It’s just ridiculous though.”
Fly tipping has been a constant problem in Fife for many years, with rural locations and industrial estates often being used as dumping grounds.
The fixed penalty for fly tipping in Scotland is £200, however, fines can rise to as much as £40,000 depending on circumstances.
Earlier this year, Fife Council postponed plans to introduce “pay-per-load” fees at its recycling centres, with a possible increase in fly tipping one of the reasons for the move.
Mark Wallace, 51, the neighbour who escorted Nicola and her family along the country lane, said that the illegal dumping of waste was a constant problem in the area.
“It’s the first time they’ve offloaded in the middle of the road,” he said.
“They have obviously just reversed down the road and offloaded.
“There is an entrance to a field that they used to use and I’ve seen it elsewhere nearby.
“I have to commend the council though for its quick response.
“They had a team out here and cleared it up really quickly.”
Dawn Jamieson, team manager at Fife Council, said: ” We try to clear up any fly-tipping on council land as soon as we are made aware of it.
“We will always try our best to find those who are responsible for this kind of illegal dumping and we are grateful for any help from the public.
“If we can ascertain who is responsible then they will be issued with a fixed penalty of £200 and will also be recharged for clean-up costs.”
jowatson@thecourier.co.uk.
