An elderly couple came home to discover 80 tyres had been dumped in their driveway, and now face having to pay to get them removed.

Hugh Cunningham, a retired historian, and his wife Diane, a psychotherapist, returned home to their village in Upper Harbledown, near Canterbury, on Saturday after visiting friends to discover the mountain of tyres.

Canterbury City Council are refusing to clear away the fly-tipped rubbish, claiming it was left on private land, so the couple will have to pay a hefty sum to have it removed.

The tyres, which were dumped between 7pm and midnight, lie in front of the Cunninghams’ rear drive leading on to Roman Road, and are preventing the gate from opening fully.

It has created “a huge inconvenience” for the pair, who have lived in the village for 42 years.

Mr Cunningham, 81, said he has been left “upset” by the incident and doesn’t wish it on anyone else.

I haven’t counted them all exactly, but I think there could be about 80. I was angry and astonished when I saw it.”

He added: “I was upset - I just thought ‘how can someone do that?’ How degrading of the environment.

“It’s a blemish on the land. I hope they never do this again and don’t do this to anybody else.”

Mrs Cunningham, 76, added: “It’s upsetting, very annoying, a real hassle and will be very expensive to move.”

She said that fly-tipping is an ongoing issue along the road.

Enforcement officers visiting site

“It’s all different kinds, we see refrigerators, building supplies, and also just people with coffee cups and bags who obviously just chuck them out the window.”

A spokesperson for the local authority said it was aware of the incident and its enforcement officers will be visiting the site to investigate, including checking local CCTV and speaking to residents for any information they may have.

“As this is private land, it is for the owner to clear what has been dumped.

“We will actively pursue any evidence we find and prosecute if we possibly can, and in one recent successful court case, we were able to secure £500 in compensation for a landowner who was the victim of a fly-tipping incident,” the spokesperson added.