Earl Spencer has revealed that fly-tipping on his Althorp estate in Northamptonshire led his family to sell 310 acres of farmland. In an article for the Daily Mail, the 62-year-old described the ongoing dumping of rubbish on the land, including the estate where his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, spent a large chunk of her childhood.
He wrote: "But last year my family sold its Dallington farmland – 310 acres of it – and what made the sale inevitable was rubbish. This wasn’t litter, nor the odd fridge dumped in a gateway. It was lorry-loads of construction waste tipped in the dead of night, asbestos sheeting left to rot in a hedgerow and, on one occasion, 60 burnt-out cars stacked on what used to be good pasture."
Further incidents on the estate
Earl Spencer also detailed earlier attempts to deal with waste. "Three years ago, the Althorp team had to tackle half-a-ton of plastic bags thrown over a wall with shovels. It was from a local restaurant, and consisted of rotten meat and putrefying human waste."
"The final straw came last year when the 250-year-old farmhouse on the land was set on fire by criminals and had to be demolished." He also added: "To most people, fly-tipping means a sofa on a verge or bin bags where they should not be. On farmland it is a hydra."
Prince Harry's recent UK visit
The article comes weeks after his nephew, Prince Harry, spent time in the UK with his young family. Harry, who lives in California, was joined by Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The Sussex family met King Charles and Queen Camilla on July 10 at Highgrove House, although it remains unknown if they met Earl Spencer. While Earl Spencer remains neutral in the ongoing feud, he is thought to be close to both Harry and Prince William. At the late Princess of Wales' funeral in 1997, he vowed to protect both.
