ONE of the worst cases of rural fly-tipping has seen up to 40 tonnes of industrial waste dumped in a country lane.

Police are appealing for information after 30-40 tonnes of industrial waste were left on a road in Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk, on Thursday, 9 April.

The waste, which is described as building material and household waste was left at the side of the road after being unloaded by a tractor and trailer at about 9.30pm.

Police and the Environment Agency were at the scene the following day to clear the mess, said rural crime officer PC Mark Bryant, of Suffolk Police.

"This is a large amount of industrial waste that has been left at the side of a public road, potentially causing a danger to motorists and other members of the public in the area.

"It will take a significant amount of time for the agencies involved to remove it.

"Acts such as this can cause serious damage to the local environment and I would urge anyone who knows who is responsible to contact us immediately."

The incident occurred as rural businesses welcomed a change in the law that will make it easier for authorities to seize and destroy vehicles belonging to fly-tippers.

The Control of Waste (Dealing with Seized Property) Regulations 2015 for England and Wales broadens the range of offences for which a vehicle can be seized.

It also removes the need for a warrant to be obtained before seizure and sets out the circumstances under which the enforcement authority may sell or destroy seized property.

These changes to the current system follow strong support for the proposals from the Country, Land and Business Association.

CLA eastern region director Ben Underwood said: "The CLA has been calling for fly-tippers to be dealt with more robustly for years.

"This change in the law to make it easier for authorities to seize fly-tippers' vehicles is an important step towards tackling a serious issue for landowners."

Persistent offenders and those taking payments to dispose of waste and then dumping it in the countryside were leaving landowners liable for prosecution, said Mr Underwood.

"As well as blighting the countryside, fly-tipping costs the rural business sector up to £150million in clean-up costs every year," he said.

"We encourage enforcement authorities to call on their new powers to tackle this burden on the rural economy.

"We will continue our campaign calling for the police and councils to treat the catching of offenders as a local priority."