Farmer finds 80 cannabis-filled bin bags dumped on his land

Rob Morgan

A farmer said he was “shocked” to find 80 bin bags containing more than 100 cannabis plants had been dumped on his land.

Rob Morgan, who runs the Gower Fresh Christmas Trees Farm near Swansea, said he had seen various items dumped on his land before, but this was a “bit of a surprise”.

He described it as “disheartening” seeing people ruin land in the Gower area which he said was a beautiful place.

South Wales Police said the waste appeared to contain “remnants from a cannabis factory” and that an investigation into identifying the individuals involved was ongoing.

“We’ve had stolen cars, rubbish and the usual stuff,” said Morgan. “But to see 120 cannabis plants, to be honest, it’s a bit disappointing.”

He said one of his workers found the bags on Monday night and it appeared they had been “ejected from a vehicle pretty hastily”.

Morgan said it was frustrating that his staff have to deal with cleaning it up at a time when they have “5,001 other jobs to do at the farm”.

“Nothing surprises me in farming anymore, but still it’s just another hurdle,” he added.

Police said they were called to the area shortly before 14:00 BST on 19 May.

“Officers received a report of 75-80 bags of waste illegally dumped in proximity to Sunnyside Farm,” the statement added.

Morgan said he felt farmers were being left “to do everything ourselves” when it comes to protecting their land from fly-tipping.

He takes pride in keeping his area tidy, organising regular beach cleans on the Gower, an area renowned for its landscapes and the first place in Britain to be named a National Landscape, according to Visit Wales.

“You see it getting spoiled by someone mindlessly, especially when we’ve got fields full of wildlife,” he said, describing it as “disheartening”.

It comes at a time when fly-tipped black bin bags are becoming a growing problem in Wales, with some people describing the impact as “horrible” on their neighbourhoods.

Rob Morgan

The fields at the farm are usually filled with reindeer, who Morgan described as the “love of my life”.

“I look after them like my own children,” he said.

But incidents like this risk their safety, he said, meaning he had to install extra security measures, such as padlocks on the gates.

“If something happens to my reindeer, like them getting out, it’s going to be heartbreaking for me,” he said of the risk of gates being left open.

A police spokesperson said: “An investigation into identifying the individuals who have dumped the waste is ongoing.”

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