A lorry-load of hazardous material dumped on a Dumfriesshire farm will cost the farmer thousands to have cleared, ITV News has reported.

The waste, which was left on private land near Annan, contained many sheets of asbestos, which can be fatal if inhaled.

Due to the hazardous nature of the material, the incident was raised as a matter of urgency with local and national agencies – Dumfries and Galloway Council, Police Scotland, SEPA and Zero Waste Scotland.

NFU Scotland say “without any identifiable content in the asbestos waste, it is unlikely that any agency intends to pursue the case for investigation and prosecution.”

Regional manager for Dumfries and Galloway, Teresa Dougall, who has been assisting farmer, Mr Jamieson, with the case, said:

It’s a hugely frustrating story as almost every person that Mr Jamieson and NFU Scotland turned to about this dreadful incident shifted the responsibility to someone else.

Although not wholly surprising, we had hoped, due to the extremely hazardous nature of asbestos, that someone would raise their head above the parapet.

Not only does this highlight the lack of general support – both physical and legislative – in tackling the surge in fly-tipping across Scotland but when hazardous waste is involved, that support still isn’t available and the innocent landowner is left to carry the cost of clean-up and disposal.