TAXPAYERS are facing a £500,000 bill to clean up a massive illegal rubbish tip hidden under a New Forest field.

About 12,000 cubic metres of waste – including tyres, bricks and rubble – are buried beneath the field off Pollards Moor Road, Copythorne.

Residents’ fears that it poses a threat to environmental and public health in the surroundings areas were last night backed by a Hampshire MP.

New Forest National Park Authority (NPA) bosses will today decide whether to use public cash to start clearing the privately-owned site.

Removing all the waste would cost about half a million pounds, but NPA officers have recommended that only the worst affected parts be cleared.

Some of the costs could be recouped from the field’s owner, Kenneth Lovett.

NPA officers have also recommended that a High Court injunction, carrying the threat of prison, is sought against Mr Lovett.

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The saga dates back to September 2006 when Mr Lovett used the rubbish to raise the level his land, which he uses to rear ponies, to stop flooding.

Three months later he was issued with an enforcement notice to clear the waste, which he has failed to comply with.

Neighbour Deborah Thorne, who owns a farm business opposite Mr Lovett’s property, said: “It has really upset a lot of local people. We’re worried about the impacts on the public, animals and the environment.”

She said the NPA and Environment Agency (EA) had been slow to act and called for them to start the clearance immediately.

“Residents want it taken away and taken away carefully. I don’t think you can put a price on human health,” Mrs Thorne said.

She was backed by Julian Lewis, Conservative MP for New Forest East, who said it was still unclear whether the field posed a health risk.

“If there is a danger of contamination then the stuff has got to be removed in its entirety without delay,” Dr Lewis said.

“If the recommendation is trying to cut corners for financial reasons, by saying they are going to do bits of it, then this problem is going to persist.”

A £15,000 survey, commissioned by the EA, found that the majority of the field contained waste about 1.6m below the surface.

They discovered evidence of copper and weathered hydrocarbons, oil derived from tyres and construction waste, in the soil.

However, the EA does not consider the land or water contaminated and has said it would not contribute to the cost of its clearance.

“We have determined the type and amount of waste deposited on site and assessed whether there are risks to surface and groundwater arising from this,” an EA spokesman said.

“Whilst we found evidence of metals and weathered hydrocarbons on site, our assessment is that the risk to surface and groundwater is low.”

The environmental health team at New Forest District Council is due to launch its own investigation.

Attempts to contact Mr Lovett, who was ordered to pay £5,000 in fines and costs in 2008, were yesterday unsuccessful.