When fly-tipped rubbish started to threaten an ancient monument, St Albans conservation group Friends of Bernards Heath approached Buttle’s to see if we could help. Waste was being illegally tipped from Soothouse Spring  into Beech Bottom Dyke, a late Iron Age earthwork which was designated a Scheduled Monument in 1981.

A vehicle turning point in the Soothouse Spring estate road provided a convenient place for fly-tippers to dump their rubbish, so Buttle’s joined forces with business neighbours A1 Tools to come up with an innovative solution. A1, whose premises overlook the tipping site, added an infra-red camera for 24-hour video surveillance. The two companies then had the waste cleared by specialist contractors and constructed a steel fence which allows enough room for turning vehicles but prevents further tipping into the dyke.

Peter Cook and Rod Keat from Friends of Bernards Heath  (pictured here with Buttle’s Managing Director William Naylor, centre) inspected the completed fence and thanked A1 Tools and Buttle’s for supporting local conservation efforts. You can find out more about their group by visiting www.bernardsheath.org