Okehampton United Charities (OUC) said the piles of rubbish found in the field by Ball Hill last week is the worst case of littering it has ever seen.

Last Wednesday (March 30), the charity reported that, when carrying out an annual tree inspection, piles of broken glass bottles, and the remains of a fire were discovered in the field, along with disgarded tyres at the OUC-owned allotment site.

Okehampton United Charities’ clerk, Karen Percival, said: ‘When I was out doing the annual tree inspection for the charity I came across a large amount of broken bottles, cans and remnants of a fire in one of the charity’s fields.’

Members of the charity have been particularly concerned by this anti-social behaviour since the land is used for grazing and such litter could injure any animals or people in the field.

Mrs Percival added: ‘The problem isn’t even clearing it up, it’s the danger of stock, people and other animals cutting themselves on the broken glass.’

The charity is going to be looking into placing deterrents to prevent another occurrence in the future.

Charity trustee, Okehampton Town Councillor Christine Marsh, said: ‘It’s awful. [We’ve not had littering] to this extent. We spent two hours clearing it. We can get mobile CCTV cameras but we’ve got to look into it.’

Okehampton United Charities offer grants to any group or individual living in or around Okehampton. It also provides two almshouses to residents facing hardship or in distress.

The charity owns three allotment sites and manages the town’s land holdings.