FRUSTRATED forest keepers have been forced to clean up five piles of rubbish - including cannabis leaves - dumped in a beauty spot in the course of just one night.

Last month The Guardian reported an increase in large piles of rubbish found tipped in Epping Forest - with keepers regularly forced to tackle mounds of builders' rubble and abandoned furniture.

Head forest keeper Keith French has now released images of five separate piles offloaded in just one night in woodland near High Beach.

Among the materials found strewn in the forest by Mr French and his team following the night of November 26-27 were the remnants of a cannabis factory and piles of broken furniture.

"The first two are of marijuana, the actual plant leaf, and the contents of a growing factory, probably a local house," said Mr French.

More than 200 tonnes of waste - including asbestos, tyres, drums of contaminated cooking oil and a dead donkey - has been dumped on Epping Forest land this year.

High Beach's dark country lanes have made the area a tipping blackspot. Most of the 652 reported cases of illegal dumping were concentrated in the area.

  • There is a reward of up to £500 for information leading to a successful fly tipping prosecution. Anyone with information should call the hotline on 020 8532 1010.