Crimdon waste tipping incident

Yesterday morning posts were circulated on an number of social media sites showing a vehicle tipping waste onto what is understood to be protected land:

Naturally members of the public were outraged at this incident and quite a few of them contacted me with a request to find out what was going on and to find out who was responsible. I contacted the head of environmental services at county hall and asked for this incident to be investigated. I’ve now received this response (redacted):

[The waste service identified in images published yesterday on social media] were hired by [a local Crimdon business] to clear rubbish from the site. When presented with options of waste disposal at a [waste service company] site or tip on site, they requested tip on site to keep costs to a minimum. As [the local Crimdon business] gave specific direction in relation to the site where the waste should be tipped. The job was carried out in compliance with those instructions.

[the waste service company] are contacting the person privately to explain the circumstances and ask them to remove the inaccurate posting and to explain that neither the task nor the employee has any connection with Durham County Council. Many workers undertaking such work wear PPE similar to Durham County Council but they do not carry the council branding.

Although I'm not sure who first noticed and reported this incident, on behalf of the public I would like to extend my thanks to them for bringing it to public attention.