ENVIRONMENT Agency officials have launched an investigation into a fly-tipping incident at Timsbury. Large piles of soil and other waste were dumped at the junction of Bunny Lane and Yokesford Hill last weekend.

An Agency spokeswoman said: "We were alerted to the waste over the weekend by a member of the public. We have attended the area and witnessed the waste and are now investigating where it has come from and how it got there. We have a few leads that we are following up and depending on the outcome of these enquiries, we will then consider the appropriate action to take. The waste will be moved but it is the responsibility of either the landowner or the local authority to do so."

Ironically tough new laws governing illegally dumped waste came into force this week and have been cautiously welcomed by campaigners fighting to keep Britain's countryside free of discarded rubbish.

Under the new regulations - which are part of the government's Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act - anyone found guilty of fly-tipping faces up to five years in jail.