Massive illegal rubbish dump found near motorway

One of the largest illegal waste dumps ever discovered has been found on a field on Merseyside.

The site, just off the M57 in Kirkby in Knowsley contains about 30,000 tonnes of rubbish, with local leaders labelling it "horrendous" and "utterly shocking".

Passers-by had noticed people working with diggers on the site without permission. The majority of waste on the site appears to have been deposited in November.

Merseyside Police and the Environment Agency said they took action to shut the site down and promised to "prosecute those responsible".

The area was a natural beauty spot for decades covered in mature trees and lush, green foliage.

Councill Graham Morgan, leader of Knowsley Council, told Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he was "totally shocked" by the rubbish dump.

"It's horrendous and we are furious at the sheer contempt those responsible have shown for our residents and for the habitat on this site," he said.

He said a full investigation by the Environmental Agency and police had started, adding: "Those responsible need to be pursued and prosecuted".

Morgan called for a thorough clean-up of the site, to "reduce the clear risk to our residents".

The LDRS understands the scale of the site makes it one of largest and most serious examples of illegal waste dumping in UK history, and if left undetected, it would have dwarfed any other illegal operation of its kind.

The area has what looked like a bomb crater, filled with tonnes of unidentified waste, some of it falling into a mini-reservoir of blackened water.

To the right are stacks of rubbish 2m (6ft) high, with a smoky-gas-like vapour rising from the peaks of the stacks.

The smell is overwhelming, choking and putrid.

It is all bordered by mountains of dirt, more rubbish, and mounds and mounds of excavated soil, professionally sited along the compacted delivery routes, stretching on for acres.

LDRS was told the site was found by sheer happenstance, when someone noticed a "large construction operation, with HGVs and JCBs moving around the land".

When confronted those working there said it was a base for a nearby roads project, which was untrue.

They disappeared and took their machinery with them.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: "We took action with Knowsley Council and Merseyside Police to shut down access to this illegal waste dump and are hunting down those involved.

"The public should be assured that we will use all our powers to prosecute the criminals responsible."

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.