Fly-tippers dump rubbish yards from Houghton House in Bedfordshire town - trapping residents in their homes

Mindless fly-tippers dumped a huge pile of rubbish just yards from the ruins of Houghton House in Ampthill on New Year’s Day.

The “disgusting mess” blocked the private lane leading to 17th century mansion – which featured in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress – trapping nearby residents in their homes.

Among the dumped items were several huge truck tyres, two rusting bicycles, an old fridge, a broken radiator and wrecked kitchen equipment.

Comedy scriptwriter Howard Martin and his wife Miriam spent two hours moving them before any of their neighbours could drive into town.

Fed-up Howard, 69, who has published several comic novels including the best-selling Learning to Fly, said: “It was most inconvenient.

“We have reported the disgusting mess to the police and hope they can track down the culprits.

“But it’s not the first time we have had problems with fly-tippers.

“Last year we woke up to find an entire cannabis farm had been dumped in the exact same spot."

His wife Miriam, 59, added: “We did hope somebody might have grassed on the culprits."

An Ampthill resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “People who despoil our lovely little town like this should be given a damn good thrashing.”

A police spokesman said: "We received reports of an abandoned vehicle on Friday (January 1) at 9.50am in Hazelwood Lane, Ampthill.

"Officers attended to make sure there were no obstruction to the road.

"Please contact the local council for more information on any fly-tipping, as anything further will sit with their environmental team."