The region's farmers are facing average clear-up bills of more than £6k when fly-tippers dump rubbish on their land, according to the Environment Agency.

It says criminal gangs are targeting secluded farmland in East Anglia under cover of darkness with lorry loads of waste.

It is urging farmers to be vigilant this winter as waste criminals dump shredded waste on carefully selected sites including farmers' tracks and fields, lanes, industrial land, parkland and laybys - sometimes by forcing locked gates.

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The agency is working with local police, the National Farmers Union (NFU), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and local authorities to tackle the problem as part of Operation Eagle.

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