Farmers in North and East Herts had fly-tipped rubbish cleared up for free using money from a fund set up by the county's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

Sites in Barley, Buntingford, Little Berkhamsted and Puckeridge were blighted by tonnes of rubbish, made up of shredded household waste.

The landowners used the fund set up by the PCC's office to cover the overall £10,600 cost of clearing the sites.

Royston Crow: The site of the Barley fly-tip after it was cleared upThe site of the Barley fly-tip after it was cleared up (Image: Herts PCC)

Herts police have been made aware of the fly-tips, and an investigation is being led by the Environment Agency.

In one of the incidents damage was caused to gain entry to the site, and the landowners are looking at target hardening methods to stop further offences taking place.

Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner David Lloyd said: "All 10 district and borough councils across Herts have joined the scheme.

"This shows how committed all parties are to tackling fly tipping.

"Fly tipping is one of the crimes I hear about most from the public. It blights the countryside and causes substantial costs for farmers and landowners to clear the waste, and poses a danger to road users, livestock and wildlife. It spoils the enjoyment of the countryside for all.

"I do not believe it is fair that farmers and landowners are left to pick up a bill, which can run in to thousands of pounds, because someone else has fly tipped on their property."

The clean-up operations were paid for using money from the Fly Tipping Fund - a £20,000 annual fund which was set up in 2018.

To be eligible for the funding, farmers or green space landowners will have to prove they already have a waste disposal contract in place with an authorised collection firm.

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The scheme is part of #SCRAPflytipping - a county-wide, multi-agency and multi-channel campaign being run by the Herts Fly Tipping Group.

Anyone interested in making a claim or finding out more information can contact the environmental team at their district or borough council, and mention the PCC's private land fly-tipping pilot.

The fund will close at the end of February, with any new funding announced after the PCC elections.