THOUSANDS of packs of PPE were found during an investigation into the use of land on the edge of the New Forest.

A report to Hampshire County Council's regulatory committee said the mountain of discarded waste was discovered at Little Testwood Farm in Calmore.

Officials from New Forest District Council came across packs of PPE aprons.

The report said: "The concern is that they have been dumped without the intention of removal to a proper facility."

A council officer told members that the PPE kits were "hidden away", adding: "It is a really good example of where there has been an illegal dumping of waste."

The county council has contacted the Environmental Agency (EA) to see if it can discover where the PPE originated and whether it was dumped during the pandemic on the grounds it was defective.

Members heard that the Agency needed to visit the site and was due to do so in the next few weeks.

Agency officials would decide whether the items had been abandoned before deciding whether to launch an investigation, the meeting was told.

Civic chiefs have also contacted the Land Registry in a bid to find out who owns the land.

The report said: "Following their own investigations into the use of land as a caravan park, New Forest District Council reported the large-scale storage of packs of old PPE.

"It became apparent that thousands of packs of medical aprons had been dumped on the land with no obvious signs that they were being protected or stored for some future use.

"The concern is that they have been dumped with no intention of removal to a proper facility.

"The EA have been contacted to see if they can determine where the PPE originated and whether it was discarded by a health trust as substandard during the Covid procurement.

"Enquiries have been made with Land Registry to ascertain land ownership."