Residents of Bere Alston, Bere Ferrers, Walkhampton and Buckland Monochorum rallied with a local fishing club last Saturday to tackle a recent incident of fly tipping in the River Tavy at Denham Bridge.

With community spirit in full flow, dressed in wetsuits and armed with buckets, ropes, rakes and other items of clean up paraphernalia, local residents delved into the river to extract unused shower and kitchen tiles that had recently been dumped in the popular beauty spot.

The tiles were first discovered by local residents and dog walkers passing through the area on January 4. Members of the Tavy, Walkham & Plym Fishing Club immediately reported the incident to West Devon Borough Council, who then made enquiries to discover who owns the land and contact them.

Kevin Hampton, a Bere Alston resident who jumped into the river to help clean up, said: ‘It’s a lot deeper than it looks! Whoever did this chose this area deliberately to avoid detection. They must have stood on the side of the road and thrown or skimmed the tiles into the river.’

Residents believe the perpetrator may be someone in the local area who has recently had a new kitchen or bathroom fitted but they are yet to be identified. The tiles are believed to be unused as upon inspection they appeared to be in pristine condition, with no plastering, grout or residue attached to them. In total, four recycling boxes were filled up with the extracted tiles.

Denham Bridge is an idyllic area enjoyed and frequented by many, particularly those who utilise the stretch of slow-moving water and eight-metre depth below the bridge to swim in during the summer months.

Not only would sharp-edged tiles in the water would be a major health and safety hazard to those who swim or fish in the river but wildlife is affected too.

William Tuckett of the fishing club said: ‘We’re delighted to have made progress in cleaning up but this is utter vandalism of the environment. There is bird life, ducks, otters, kingfishers — it’s everything that lives on the river, not just fish. These dumping actions are highly irresponsible.’

Chair of Bere Ferrers Parish Council, Peter Crozier said: ‘This is a very regrettable incident that someone dumped a substantial quantity of unused tiles into the river, hoping they’d never be seen again.’

A spokesperson for West Devon Borough Council said: ‘Any river pollution incident must be reported to the Environment Agency for them to take appropriate action. We have been contacted by the group that has retrieved much of the dumped waste to the river side and are arranging for our contractor to now remove this.’