A couple fulfilling their dream to create a wildlife haven were left ‘angered’ when chemicals and building materials were dumped on their land in Newton Poppleford.
Teresa and Ron Loynd have been clearing the overgrown woodland in Littledown Lane since August, but on Monday found it had been targeted by fly-tippers – the second time in as many years.
The Branscombe residents will have to foot the bill for the clean-up to make the site safe for their livestock and the other animals that have made it their home.
Teresa said: “We’re trying to create a nice woodland area. It’s a piece of land that’s been overgrown for 25 years. We’re trying to encourage wildlife – we know there are roe deer and butterflies. This fly-tipping makes us very angry. There’s no need for it.
“Paying a few quid for them to take it away isn’t the end of the world. What’s even more annoying is that we will have to pay to get rid of it.”
Among the items that were dumped are some lengths of plastic guttering, a five-litre plastic container and some car cleaning chemicals.
Last year, fly-tippers dumped plasterboard that Teresa and Ron initially feared was asbestos.
This time, a builders merchant has said it may be able to trace the people responsible from the barcodes on the products.
Alternatively, Teresa said someone may have paid for a shed or garage clearance and hopes they recognise the items.
She added: “Why would you want to do something like this? Why would you want to ruin a beautiful area? It’s selfish and irresponsible.
“We live in Branscombe, but we’re there every day tending to the animals .This is our recreation area. We had to save hard to buy it and have spent the last 10 months of weekends clearing this land to bring in more wildlife.
“This was always our dream.”
She added the area is currently just for private use but they ultimately hope to build a hut so Ron can watch and photograph birds – and one day they could open it to others with a similar interest.
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