Country mouse on fly-tipping

Flytippers deserve much worse penalties than are currenly meted out, says Mark, as he passes a fridge and some sofas on a local byway.

Country mouse, Country Life magazine
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Last summer, I met a German couple on the ancient byway that runs westwards from the village. This inspirational pair had walked all the way from Rome, following old pilgrimage routes, and our little byway, they explained, was part of the route to St Swithun’s remains in Winchester Cathedral.

The beauty of the surrounding countryside entranced them, and I felt proud of our little bit of Hampshire for putting on a worthwhile show for these travellers. I am glad they didn’t come last weekend. Now, they’d have to pass a fridge and, further along, a pair of neatly stacked sofas. I’m as sad as I am furious.

The effort these fly-tipping criminals must have gone to get down the muddy lane to dump these objects when there’s a perfectly good council tip four miles away is bewildering.

The selfishness of fly tippers deserves far higher penalties than are currently imposed, and although others will now clear up the mess they left (at no little cost to themselves), I can’t begin to understand why people do it. Anyone caught doing it should be locked in a rubbish tip for a week that way, they might learn what they’re doing to others.

Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.