Farmer finds entire cannabis farm dumped on his land

Heath Ramsden, who lives in Holmfirth, near Saddleworth, says scores of bags of plants, lighting, ducting and other equipment used to grow the drug has been thrown into his fields.

The people responsible first visited in August.

They have since returned several times, always late at night or in the early hours of the morning, to target the remote rural road at Mole Clough near New Mill.

Mr Ramsden burned the first bags of waste but when others turned up he sought assistance from Kirklees Council.

However he was told that the council would not accept responsibility as the rubbish – including empty nutrient tubs, compost, bulb boxes, fans, ducting and huge metal filters as well as cannabis plants – was on private land.

That got short shrift from local councillor Nigel Patrick who said residents should not have to deal with the problem.

He said: “This is criminal and hazardous waste. Cannabis can kill dogs. Yet nobody is giving advice on what to do with it. That’s shocking.

“The police should be dealing with it. I am appalled that they are not.

“The biggest problem is, where do you get rid of it? The landowner has discovered it. Does it now become his responsibility to clear it?”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman confirmed that the force had received reports of waste being fly-tipped on private land in the Holmfirth area “which is alleged to be related to criminal activities”.

He said inquiries were underway to identify those responsible and that reports of waste being dumped that is believed to be linked to crime could be made to the police by dialling 101.

Mr Ramsden said: “It’s clear to me that this is a cannabis farm and that somebody has had to scarper.

“Initially I thought it was just cannabis plants that they were dumping, but now we’re getting everything else, all the equipment and lights.

“They’ve had to do a moonlight flit.

“We have had five or six lots dumped on our land. There were a few weeks between the first and second, and then another after a couple of days. It’s getting more regular.

“We put the first lot in the tractor and burned it. We thought that might be the end of it.

“The police came up, told us it was on private land and there wasn’t a lot they could do but people have complained because it’s near a public footpath.

“Last week three men from the council turned up in a wagon and said they wouldn’t touch it because it was on private land.

“So the council won’t do anything. It’s our responsibility to get rid of it.

“We’ve already paid £120 to have part of it shifted. That’s not fair.”

Clr Naheed Mather, Kirklees Council’s Cabinet member for environment, said: “On receiving the reports of the fly tip, the Greenspace Action Team attended the location, which was found to be on private land.

“Due to this the team were unable to remove it, however they were still able to carry out a search for evidence.

“If evidence is discovered our team are able to support landowners in criminal proceedings to prosecute, however on this occasion no evidence was found.

“When fly-tipping takes place on private land the responsibility of the removal lies with the landowner.

“The Safer Kirklees Team advised the landowner to contact a registered waste carrier. And we are always willing to work to with landowners to provide advice on how to secure potentially vulnerable sites.   

“It’s important to note when using a carrier to remove your waste that they hold a valid waste carrier’s licence. This can be checked via a link on our website www.kirklees.gov.uk/flytipping.”