\n The Conservators of Ashdown Forest have reported “multiple cases of illegal waste dumping” in recent weeks.\n<\/p>\n
\n This unlawful activity poses a threat to both wildlife and visitors, and has the potential to contaminate land and water courses, authorities say.\n<\/p>\n
\n Among the discarded waste, the two most significant dumps were found to contain glass, tin cans, and plastic.\n<\/p>\n
\n There have been a number of incidents at the forest in recent weeks (Image: Ashdown Forest)\n<\/p>\n
\n Ash Walmsley, head of countryside, said: “It is so disappointing to see this type of anti-social behaviour on the forest when domestic and commercial rubbish can be safely disposed of at local authority waste recycling sites.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Broken glass, sharp metal, and chemicals can cause serious injury to wildlife and this thoughtless and dangerous dumping detracts from the hard work being done by our staff and volunteers to protect this rare and cherished landscape.”\n<\/p>\n
\n This type of activity diverts funds and resources from essential maintenance work on the forest.\n<\/p>\n
\n Recent instances of industrial scale fly-tipping at Hoads Wood in Kent, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, have brought to light the increasing trend of unlicensed dumping.\n<\/p>\n
\n Authorities called the fly-tipping ‘so disappointing’ (Image: Ashdown Forest)\n<\/p>\n
\n Unwitting businesses and homeowners often fall victim to unlicensed contractors who are paid to remove waste, only to dump it in rural areas.\n<\/p>\n
\n Beth Morgan, Head of Engagement and Development at Ashdown Forest, said: “We would ask everybody to please ensure that you use a licenced waste carrier.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It is easy to check that they are registered by initially asking for their registration number and then checking this with the public register.\n<\/p>\n
\n “If they are unregistered or they have given you a false reference, there is a chance that your rubbish will be fly tipped and could end up somewhere like Ashdown Forest.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Ashdown Forest, which inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh stories (Image: Simon Carey)\n<\/p>\n
\n Wealden District Council advises checking the Environment Agency’s Register of Waste Carriers or calling 03708 506 506 to ensure waste contractors are licensed.\n<\/p>\n
\n The council also warns that failure to take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful waste dumping could result in significant fines, a criminal record, or a \u00a3200 fixed penalty notice.\n<\/p>\n
\n Beth Morgan added: “Fly-tipping is a criminal offence, with an unlimited fine and up to five years in prison.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We are asking all our visitors to keep an eye out for fly-tipping and if they spot it happening and it is safe to do so, to note any vehicle registration plate details and the location of the fly tip which we can then report to the police.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Ashdown Forest is a very special place, and we need to work together protect it.”\n<\/p>\n
\n The forest is the real-world setting for the Hundred Acre Wood in A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories.\n<\/p>\n
\n Milne was inspired by the forest’s woodland walks for his books, which he wrote from Cotchford Farm on its edge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Conservators of Ashdown Forest have reported “multiple cases of illegal waste dumping” in recent weeks. This unlawful…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-249052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}