Two tonnes of meat dumped by fly-tippers in Wareham

Meat weighing two tonnes been dumped by fly-tippers in Dorset.

Several white bulk bags containing cooked and uncooked rotting meat have been found four locations in and around Wareham.

Dorset Council said the bags were so heavy that lifting equipment was needed to remove them.

Some of the products have been traced back to abattoirs in Bedford, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Council enforcement officers said slaughterhouse workers and butchers had been helping them with their inquiries.

They said it was unusual for waste of this type to be dumped, and said it may have come from a business that struggled to sell or use existing stock because of the pandemic.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious in Binnegar Lane, Hyde Road, Lower Woodbury Crossroads and Lane End in the last two weeks was urged to contact the authority's waste team.

Community services councillor Jill Haynes said: "Investigating and clearing up something as disgusting as rotting meat is something our employees simply shouldn't have to do, and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped deal with this mess."