LANDOWNERS on North Hill are warning the area's environmental beauty is being put at risk following a spate of fly tipping.

In the latest incident discovered by a Minehead couple last Sunday, rubble, bricks, mortar, a fridge, cooker and kitchen food waste was dumped by the side of one of the viewing points.

One of the pensioners who came across it, a man in his 80s who asked not to be named, said the rubbish had obviously been tipped from a van.

"There was enough to fill a garage and it was just thrown into the heather and gorse," he said.

"We were absolutely enraged. North Hill has some of the prettiest views in England - this is just unacceptable."

The couple, who believe the culprit was probably local, contacted the police and the Exmoor National Park Authority.

It later emerged that the land on which the rubbish was dumped is owned by the National Trust.

But national park head of information and access services Tim Braund said the authority had had to deal with a similar incident on its land on North Hill only a few days earlier.

"People are simply spoiling the environment by this type of irresponsible behaviour," he said.

"It is illegal and the police are always informed."

National Trust spokesman Allan King told the Free Press that the rubbish discovered on Sunday had been cleared away by Tuesday morning.

He said fly tipping was becoming an increasing problem and the charity had dealt with two or three similar incidents on its land in West Somerset in the last couple of months.

'It is a problem on North Hill, Exmoor and the Quantocks," he said.

Mr King said the rubbish found by the elderly couple appeared to have come from a kitchen refurbishment.

"What many people don't appreciate is that it not only costs us money to go and clear it up but it also costs us to dispose of the waste properly.

"It is environmental damage and it is spoiling the countryside.

"We are spending resources to deal with this problem that could be used on making the countryside better."

Mr King appealed to the public to report anything suspicious to the police or to landowners.

Only last month the Free Press reported the case of a Minehead woman who was left to pick up the bill for removing rubble, an old toilet and fridge that had been dumped in front of her garage.

Felicity Perkins blamed the incident on new opening hours and the introduction of charges at West Somerset's recycling centres.

While people have to pay to use Dulverton's recycling centre irrespective of the type or volume of items they are dumping, those using other centres - including Minehead and Williton - have to pay to deposit certain types of waste, such as soil, rubble, gas bottles and tyres.

The Somerset Waste Partnership, which oversees waste collection and recycling on behalf of Somerset's county and district councils, was forced to introduce new opening hours and charges after the county council withdrew £1.9 million of funding as part of a swingeing programme of cutbacks.