Illegal Waste

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On 9 October, BBC ONE West and BBC NEWS reported that almost 40,000 tonnes of rubbish had been removed from an illegal waste site in Kent. The site, Hoads Wood near Ashford, is an ancient forest that was used for illegal dumping for six months. The clearance was described as the first site of its kind in England to be cleared with taxpayers' money, at a cost of 15 million pounds. The channels reported that the waste was processed landfill material that should have gone to landfill and was dumped in 2023. The clear-up took a year. A local man, who remained anonymous because he feared reprisals, said the rubbish was 20 to 25 feet high in places and had a distinctive rotten egg smell. He set up a campaign group that raised the alarm for months before authorities acted. The Environment Agency extended a restriction order making it illegal to enter the area and landscaped the site to make it inaccessible to potential waste dumpers. Tree trunks and ponds were created to attract wildlife, and ditches were created to stop vehicles entering. Some ancient woodland species were said to be unlikely to return within a lifetime. No one had been prosecuted for the tipping at the time of the coverage. Normally landowners are responsible for clearing dumped rubbish, but the government made an exception to intervene after a long local campaign. The channels also reported that the clear-up was the second taxpayer-funded clean-up to be completed. The first was a 20,000-tonne dump in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, which cost 6 million pounds. Five more were in the pipeline. Hundreds of illegal waste sites were said to be operating across England, and many communities continued to feel their impact.

Key Claims by Channel

Thursday 20 August 2026

Claim
Reported by a few · 2–5 channels
The government announced a crackdown on waste crime, including more Environment Agency offices, drones, and three additional sites to be cleared.				Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4
Fines for illegal waste dumping increased from £300 to £5,000.	Not reported by Channel 5			Not reported by BBC Two
New powers allow police and the National Crime Agency to seize criminals' assets more quickly.		Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV
The plans include a bigger role for police, the National Crime Agency and regional mayors in tackling illegal waste.	Not reported by Channel 5		Not reported by BBC One	Reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4		Reported by Sky News
The government will use drones and AI to monitor illegal dumps in real time.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Only on one channel
More Environment Agency officers will be added, though the number was not specified.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Andy Burnham said issues like fly tipping have been ignored by Westminster for too long.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
Andy Burnham said that making easy money from waste is over.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Sky News reported that tests on three of the country's largest illegal dumps found a toxic mix of hundreds of chemicals posing a serious health risk.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
A site in Gloucester has more than 100,000 tons of waste that has been there for seven years.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Reported by Sky News
Campaigners expressed scepticism about the lack of follow-through on the plans.	Not reported by Channel 5	Reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two	Not reported by Channel 4	Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The plan includes no new funding, despite a previous £45 million announcement for waste crime.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News
The National Crime Agency will work with the Environment Agency to target organised crime behind waste dumps.	Not reported by Channel 5	Not reported by BBC News	Not reported by BBC One	Not reported by BBC Two		Not reported by ITV	Not reported by Sky News

Friday 9 October 2026

Claim
Reported by all 2 channels
Kent illegal waste site clean-up involved the removal of nearly 40,000 tonnes of rubbish at a reported cost of £15 million.
Criminal gangs used Hoad's Wood, an ancient forest near Ashford, as an illegal dump for six months in 2023.		Reported by BBC One
No prosecutions have been brought over the illegal tipping at the site so far.		Reported by BBC One
The Hoads Wood clearance was the first site of its kind in England to be cleared using taxpayers' money.
The clear-up took a year.	Reported by BBC News
A local man, who stayed anonymous fearing reprisals, said the dumped rubbish had a rotten egg smell and was 20 to 25 feet high in places.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
A local man set up a campaign group that raised the alarm about the dumping for months before authorities acted.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
The Environment Agency extended a restriction order making it illegal to enter the area and landscaped the site to make it inaccessible to potential waste dumpers.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Tree trunks and ponds were created to attract wildlife and help the land recover, and ditches were created to stop vehicles entering and dumping loads.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Some vegetation and species associated with ancient woodland are unlikely to return within a lifetime.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Normally the landowner is responsible for clearing dumped rubbish, but the government made an exception to intervene after a long local campaign.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Animals including deer, butterflies and dragonflies, and green shoots of plants, had been seen returning to the site.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Officials said no one had removed this volume of waste from a protected site before, so the project had to break new ground.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
The Environment Agency said it could not build a wall or fence around the whole site because it remains privately owned, and was working with partners and police to respond more quickly to reports.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
This was the second taxpayer-funded clear-up to be completed; the first was a 20,000-tonne dump in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, costing £6 million.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Five more similar clear-ups were in the pipeline.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One
Hundreds of illegal waste sites were operating across England.	Reported by BBC News	Reported by BBC One

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.