A sofa has been dumped on countryside near Foxdale just a short distance from the civic amenity site.

The large piece of furniture was fly-tipped on the road from Ballanass up towards Snuff the Wind (Cross Vein) mine overnight on Friday into Saturday.

Patrick Commissioners have expressed their frustration over the latest fly-tipping incident.

Posting on Facebook, they said: ‘If anyone has any information around who has dumped this sofa on the road from Ballanass up towards Snuff the Wind mines please let us know.

‘Extremely disappointing when the Civic Amentity site is just a couple of miles down the road!

‘We are sure the sofa didn’t walk its way to this location. Fly tipping costs money to collect and dispose of correctly and litters the countryside.’

There appears to have been a rise in fly-tipping incidents in recent weeks which comes after a rise in costs to dispose of some items.

At the start of this month, the cost of disposing of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) at all civic amenity sites across the Isle of Man increased following the introduction of new government-mandated fees.

The updated charges include significant fees for disposing of common household appliances.

There has recently been an increase in reports of illegally dumped items, from household appliances to construction waste, with many expressing frustration over the rising costs of legal disposal.

Bill Dale, founder of Beach Buddies, a charity that collects litter and rubbish across the island, has called for a proactive approach to tackle the issue.

‘Fly-tipping is an increasing problem, not just on beaches’, he said.

‘We believe the best solution is to enforce serious penalties to act as a deterrent.’