A CANNABIS farm has been flytipped near a historic site.

A large pile of bin bags full of compost, plant stalks, plastic containers and other rubbish was dumped in a visitors' carpark next to Powick Mill on Friday night.

A Worcester City Council spokesman said the land was registered as being owned by Powick Mill and thus the authority was not responsible for removing the flytipped waste, as it's a private site.

Local resident Ben Ineson-Thomas said: “The only thing that really bothers me is that I am having to sort it out.

“I am a bit worried about the dogs finding it. I walk my dog around there and I am probably going to have to tidy it up to make it safe.

“Lots of people walk their dogs around there, and I have no way of contacting the people who look after the old electricity works.

“If they had chucked it in the road, then the council would have taken it away.”

A strong smell of cannabis is emitting from the bags but police say no cannabis was found when they visited the site.

Mr Ineson-Thomas said the flytipping was reported to Worcester City Council.

Local parish councillor Andrew Lamb said: “Flytipping anywhere is to be deplored. From a council point of view we try to maintain all areas as tidy as we can. Presumably authorities will be investigating where it came from.”

The car park is next to a Grade II listed building in Old Road, Powick Mill, a Victorian power station that at one time powered half of Worcester.

The Worcester News was unable to contact anyone from Powick Mill, the registered landowner for the site upon which the bin bags were dumped.

Fly tipping is a criminal act. People caught illegally dumping waste can be fined up to £50,000 or face five years in prison.