By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-09 01:05:59 | Updated at 2026-10-09 01:47:29
43 minutes ago
A 15-month clean-up operation has removed close to 40,000 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish from an ancient woodland in Kent.
The Environment Agency confirmed it removed the waste from Hoad's Wood, an ancient woodland near Ashford.
The effort required about 2,500 lorry-loads to haul away household and construction waste from the beauty spot, with the total bill expected to reach around £15.5million.
Acumen Waste Services Ltd carried out the work alongside more than 50 specialist personnel as part of the agency-led project, which began in June 2025.
The woodland, a site of special scientific interest with protected status, will remain closed to the public while nature is given time to recover.
Organised criminals began targeting the woodland in 2023, stacking waste as high as 15 feet before the authorities intervened and shut down the operation.
The site is designated as a location of special scientific interest and provides a habitat for rare plant species and wildlife.
Officers from the Environment Agency launched a criminal inquiry that same year, with investigators collaborating with the Joint Unit for Waste Crime and Kent Police to identify those responsible.
The waste has finally been cleared from the Kent woodland
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The waste was piled up at the site in 2024
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Three men were arrested in connection with the case last year.
The Environment Agency is asking anyone with information relevant to the Hoad's Wood investigation to contact its 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060 or report details anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
Matthew Higginson, the Environment Agency's area environmental manager with over a decade of experience in waste regulation, described Hoad's Wood as "arguably the worst waste dump I've seen".
He said: This was appalling...when we first got to the site, everything was grey where the waste had been dumped."
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Waste piled high along the roads in the ancient woodlands
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The site has now been fully cleared
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He added that the stench was "quite revolting", with trees having perished and toxic black liquid from decomposing rubbish seeping into the surrounding environment.
"The look of it was bad, but the smell and the complete scale of environmental impact was quite staggering," Mr Higginson said.
The restoration presented significant challenges given the woodland's protected designation, requiring coordination among multiple organisations, including project managers, waste specialists, archaeologists, and ecology experts.
Mr Higginson said the team's overarching goal was to offer nature "the best possible ways to try and recover".
The clean-up, led by the Environment Agency (EA) removed 39,500 tonnes of illegal waste
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Restoration crews unblocked natural drainage channels so water could circulate through the woodland again, while excavators dug out pockets of buried waste to form a network of linked ponds, helping restore a wet woodland habitat.
Tree foliage was also brought in and spread across the ground to decompose and enrich the damaged soil, helping to re-establish conditions for plant growth.
Mr Higginson said: "At the start it was very hard to envisage what the site was going to look like at the end because of the state that it was in. So the position that we got it to is really, really satisfying."
Local residents and campaigners who toured the site this week praised the team's transformation.
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The clean-up at Hoad's Wood forms part of a broader governmental drive against waste crime, which has surged across England in recent years.
Other high-profile dumping sites at Bolton House in Wigan, Kidlington in Oxfordshire, and Midland Road in Bradford have also provoked widespread public anger and been earmarked as priorities because of their scale, community risk, and ties to organised criminality.
A separate £6million clearance at the Kidlington location, situated close to the River Cherwell, was finished in August.
Ministers have unveiled a raft of new measures, including greater use of drone surveillance, enhanced powers for regulators to seize criminals' assets, higher fines and an expanded role for mayors and police forces.
A new Waste Crime Crackdown Group, chaired by Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle, will coordinate efforts between regulators and law enforcement to disrupt criminal networks.
