Environmental Services officers at East Cambridgeshire District Council are appealing for information following the discovery of fly-tipped cannabis production waste that was dumped over the weekend (1 and 2 February 2025).

Dumps were located at Sedgeway near Witchford; along the byway at New Road, Witchford; at Gravel Drove near Witcham, and Witcham Bridge Drove.

Dead plants, empty packaging for lights, fertilisers and other cannabis growing related materials were present in the tips.

One of the fly-tips blocked the road at Sedgeway. The others were hidden in drainage ditches, which can cause flooding in fenland areas.

An officer attended the locations to examine the waste to establish lines of enquiry.

Although overall numbers of fly-tips in the East Cambridgeshire district have fallen from a high of 750 tips in 2018 to 432 tips in 2024, cannabis production waste is increasingly being featured in the larger tips.

Lis Every is Chair of the East Cambridgeshire Community Safety Partnership, which brings together representatives from the police and East Cambridgeshire District Council, as well as other organisations working together to protect the local community from crime and help people feel safe.

She said: “Drug manufacturing is closely linked to organised crime, and it is vital that we pursue all lines of enquiry in our attempts to catch those responsible and to stop this type of activity in our district, in order to protect our communities, our environment and the safety of road users.”

The police, council and the CSP are appealing to anyone who may have seen vehicles present in the areas where these tips took place over the weekend that appeared to be suspicious.

Should you have any information please contact customer services on 01353 665555 and request to speak to Environmental Services or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.