The problem of illegally dumped rubbish is piling up for Wiltshire farmers, the county's National Farmers' Union heard.

The county's delegate to the NFU national council, Denise Plummer, said: "How can we deal with fly tipping it's a huge, huge problem."

Fellow member Alistair Fitzgerald wanted other farmers to tell him the scale of the problem so he could take it up with the Environment Agency.

After the meeting in Lackham College, near Chippenham, county chairman John Doel said members of the public were simply dumping waste in any ditch or gateway.

"Old washing machines, old fridges, dumped cars farmers end up having to deal with it," he said.

"Gateways are a particular favourite with fly tippers but it could be anywhere the car can pull over and the rubbish can be tipped out.

"If a farmer finds a washing machine in his ditch it's a two-man job to get it out and take it to the nearest refuse site."

At the meeting it was revealed that proposed stringent new farm waste regulations would impose considerable extra costs estimated at £45 million nationally upon farmers next year and that the cost of clearing up rubbish dumped illegally on their land could cost them twice this amount.

Mr Doel said that, to qualify for the new single farm payment replacing farm subsidies from the EU, farmers were not allowed to burn rubbish or collect scrap on their farms.

Their properties will have to be cleared up every year. "In theory it shouldn't cost more, but in practice it will," said Mr Doel.