Suspected drug-driver arrested amid flytipping crackdown off Lyndhurst High Street

A SUSPECTED drug-driver was arrested as police cracked down on flytipping in the New Forest.

Officers joined forces with Forestry England and the national park authority to stop and check waste-carrying vehicles at Lyndhurst High Street yesterday (Monday) morning.

This came amid a surge in flytips across the district, which endanger livestock and cost FE thousands to clear up every year.

A total of 51 vehicles were stopped by Totton’s roads policing unit, the Country Watch team from Lyndhurst and Hampshire’s rural policing team. They were joined by the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA).

The arrested driver, a 25-year-old from Winchester, was over the legal limit for cannabis, and his vehicle was also seized for being uninsured. He was later released under investigation.

Of the vehicles stopped, 12 were prohibited for various defects, and four drivers were issued tickets for not wearing seatbelts.

One driver was also ticketed for using a phone at the wheel, and another for not being in proper control of their vehicle.

Five vehicles were also found to need tyres replacing, four did not have the correct insurance, two had defective lights, one had an unsecured load, one failed to display a rear number plate, and another had no tax.

Thanking those who helped with the operation, a police post online said: “Together we will all continue to make the New Forest a safer place to live and work.”