This is a picture of the mountain of rubbish left blocking a St Albans road after it was dumped by fly-tippers.

The Furzebush Lane mound was spotted on February 11 by a cyclist out on a morning ride along the district’s country lanes.

It contains branches, white plastic, and wooden boards.

The cyclist, who did not give his name, said: “I frequently see rubbish dumped by the road on those lanes - but the degree of disregard shown here really amazed me.

“I would have thought it was dumped on Saturday night at some point - I doubt the people dumping it even stopped - just shovelled it of the back of a truck and kept driving.”

Herts county council contractor Ringway are responsible for fly-tipping incidents which block roads in the county.

Ringway divisional manager Kevin Carrol said: “We were not aware of the fly-tipped waste in Furzebush Lane, St Albans until we received an enquiry from the local press on Tuesday.

“Our emergency response team were on site within two hours to assess the situation.

“Due to the large amount of fly-tipped waste in the centre of the road, our team closed the road to make the area safe for the public.”

A specialist removal team cleared the road.

He added: “Sadly, fly-tipping happens far too often across the county and our teams work hard to keep Hertfordshire looking clean and tidy.

“Fly-tipping is a criminal act and I’m sure traders who use trade waste sites to dispose of their waste properly feel as outraged as we do at the criminals who dump waste irresponsibly.”

This follows a fly-tipping incident last week where more than twenty fridges and freezers were scattered along Symondshyde Lane, off Coopers Green Road.

That road, although very close to St Albans district, falls under the remit of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (WHBC) to clean up.

Fly-tipping is defined under section 33 of the Environment Protection Act 1990 as waste illegally deposited on land. It includes almost all waste items ranging from a single black rubbish bag to multiple loads of construction waste.

Anyone witnessing a fly-tipping incident should call 999, but a pile discovered after the event should be reported to St Albans district council on 01727 809019 or on wastemanagementservices@stalbans.gov.uk