THIS is not a woodland Santa’s grotto but a gateway off the Blue Anchor to Watchet road where toddlers’ toys, still in good condition and together worth several hundred pounds when new, were inexplicably fly-tipped this week.

The tricycles, prams and toy boxes, some in pristine condition, were found on Wednesday by the roadside at “Jenny Cridland’s Copse”, on the narrow lane leading to Washford, by Phil Gannon, vice-chairman of Old Cleeve Parish Council.

“It’s a favourite spot for fly-tippers,” he said. “We have previously found a fridge there, and a double bed.”

“Why the toys couldn’t be taken to a charity shop is beyond me. It’s a remote spot to drive to and pretty well off the beaten track.

“Someone has gone to some effort to dump the stuff there when it could have made somebody an early Christmas present.”

A West Somerset Council spokesman said: “We have had a report of toys being fly-tipped. We have instructed a contractor to collect the items and if they are in good condition we will send them to a charity for disadvantaged children well in time for Christmas.

“That’s the sort of recycling which could make someone very happy.”

Photo: Viv Merson