hay bales

[frodsham]

my back garden backs onto a farmers field separated by a small brook. The farmer bales hay on the field and leaves it stacked for a day or two. (round bales). In the past two years two of thes bales have been rolled into the brook by I think kids. I have approached the farmer who is going to do nothing as he says the sloping banks would make it impossible for him to remove them. Our council says it is not there responsiblity. The environment agency says it is not there responsibility as this is not a river, and my local councillor's are as I write doing nothing. Is anyone responsible for this or do I have to accept it. There is little danger of flooding but history tells me that by next year this problem could escalate.

[pink-kittens]

Are you worried about flooding then or just the bales?

They will rot down eventually - are the ones from last year still there?

[voltr4m4x]

Is the brook (and the bales) on private land owned by the farmer ? If the answer is "yes" then you are clearly wasting your time. Your last sentence suggests that there is no danger to the public.

[frodsham]

one bale which went in the brook last year still has not rotted away. There is an obvious gap in the perimeter hedging which the bales have come through. I believe the farmer could do something about if he was resident friendly. I was born on a farm in Ireland my relations still farm the land. So this is not a winge from a townie, but a concern that an ongoing problem is going to grow unless the farmer starts to manage his land more responsibly.