THE military and county chiefs are joining forces to protest Salisbury Plains from fly-tippers.

Wiltshire Council is joining forces with Landmarc Support Services (Landmarc), HQ Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA), Wiltshire Police and the Wiltshire Rural Crime Partnership to combat fly-tipping at the UK’s largest military training area.

Operation Barn Owl, a joint initiative to protect the 97,000-acre Salisbury Plain training area, is a haven for wildlife, with more than 50,000 acres designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

The area is the size of the Isle of Wight and a vital training ground for the British Army, stretching from Warminster to Tidworth.

Wiltshire Council’s Environmental Enforcement team will lead the operation, coordinating investigations, gathering evidence and intelligence, deploying overt and covert cameras in hotspot areas, and raising public awareness.

Meanwhile, with training exercises happening over 340 days per year, HQ SPTA and Landmarc will ensure safe access for enforcement officers to investigate incidents before the waste is removed, while Wiltshire Police and the Rural Crime Partnership will also support investigations.

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Cllr Martin Smith, cabinet member for highways, Street Scene and flooding, said: “Fly-tipping is not only an eyesore, it’s a threat to rare wildlife, livestock and the environment.

“Our We’re Targeting Fly-tippers (WTF) campaign has been having a real impact throughout Wiltshire, but we’ve been limited by what we could do in the Salisbury Plain area.

“This great joint initiative means that we can expand our capabilities and prosecute those offenders who thought that they could get away with illegally dumping their waste on the Plain because access is restricted.

“We’re delighted to be working with local partners to tackle fly-tipping on Salisbury Plain.”

Maj Andrew Riddell, from HQ SPTA, said: “A superb initiative to combat the ugly crime of fly-tipping. It interferes with training, damages the environment, affects wildlife and is an eye sore on a beautiful landscape. We fully support the council.”

Landmarc area delivery manager, Doug North, said: “As the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO)’s industry partner delivering services across the Defence Training Estate, we are proud to work alongside Wiltshire Council, the Ministry of Defence and Wiltshire Police to tackle the ongoing issue of fly-tipping.

“This kind of partnership is vital in protecting both the training environment and the surrounding community from the environmental and operational impact of illegal waste disposal.”

T/Chief Inspector Andy Lemon, from the Rural Crime Team at Wiltshire Police, added: “Fly-tipping has a detrimental effect on the environment and our communities.

“We have been working in Partnership with Wiltshire Council and the Environment Agency for several years, supporting their work and undertaking proactive activities together.

“This behaviour is not only destroying our beautiful countryside but also costing our already stretched local authorities’ tens of thousands of pounds.

“We will continue to fully support the partnership, by working closely together. We encourage the public to continue reporting incidents of fly tipping to Wiltshire Council who are the lead agency.

“If this is being witnessed and those responsible still present, please report on 999 to Wiltshire Police.”

To find out more about fly-tipping prevention and to report it, visit www.wiltshire.gov.uk/fly-tipping.