“DISGUSTING” rubbish bags filled with dirty nappies were among debris found fly-tipped in Exmoor National Park, as the area sees a rise in such incidents.

Three binbags filled with used nappies were dumped on a road on North Hill on Father’s Day.

Paul Allen, a Minehead resident, spotted the mess and said it was “disgusting and unnecessary”.

He said: “It was about half way along that road in a popular spot for picnics and dog walkers.

“As I arrived, I saw a police officer at the scene.

“We spoke for a while and she said she had found paperwork among all of the rubbish, which was 50 per cent soiled nappies, that had a Minehead address on them.

“This is disgusting and unnecessary.”

Mr Allen posted the photos on Facebook which led to 50 comments mostly condemning the act, with a few people speculating if more frequent bin collections would ease the fly-tipping problem.

A spokesman for Exmoor National Park said: “Fly tipping is extremely frustrating to see, especially during the tourist season.

“We have seem to have seen an increase in recent months with mattresses and other rubbish dumped in the park.

“It is bad for the environment, is costly to the taxpayer and someone has the highly unpleasant job of cleaning it up.”

Somerset County Gazette:

RELATED: Click here for more West Somerset news

Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) says that there is “no excuse” for fly-tipping, and that the levels of illegally-dumped waste is at the lowest it’s been for five years.

A spokesman said: “With kerbside collections from every home, and a better network of recycling sites than most if not all the UK, there is no excuse for fly-tipping in Somerset, which is a blot on our beautiful landscape, a threat to people and animals, and a crime with significant penalties.

“The level of fly-tipping in Somerset fell in 2016-17 to its lowest for five years, thanks to residents and businesses taking action to defend themselves from the criminal predators who carry out much of this illegal dumping, and strong preventive action – from signage and CCTV surveillance to road closures and use of fixed penalties – by council enforcement officers.”

SWP says there are simple steps to take to ensure waste is legally dealt with including never paying someone in cash to remove rubbish and to take names and contact details of people you’re paying to remove waste for you, and to ensure anyone removing waste for money, including gardeners and tradespeople, has a licence to do so.

For more information go to somersetwaste.gov.uk/about/fight-fly-tipping.