Puzzled dog walker finds mountain of discarded Wetherspoon pub furniture and biscuits which were fly-tipped at beauty spot car park – as pub chain reveals the goods were stolen from contractors’ van

• David McClure came across the goods in the car park of Longslade Bottom
• The pub chain said it had not thrown the furniture away but it had been stolen

A dog walker has found a mountain of discarded Wetherspoon pub furniture which were fly-tipped at a beauty spot car park after being stolen. 

David McClure found a huge pile of tables and chairs as well as a menu stand and a box of individually-wrapped shortbread in the car park of Longslade Bottom, a beauty spot in Brockenhurst, in the New Forest National Park.

He said the goods were ‘very identifiable’ as Wetherspoon furniture and the tables still have their table numbers on them. 

However, the pub chain revealed that its staff had not thrown the furniture away an instead the items had come from a van belonging to one of its contractors which was stolen last month. 

It said that both the furniture and the biscuits were being moved from The Night Jar in Ferndown, which closed on September 24, to another Wetherspoon pub and that it was now ‘making arrangements’ to remove the items. 

David McClure found a mountain of discarded Wetherspoon pub furniture which were fly-tipped at a beauty spot car park after being stolen

The items included a huge pile of tables and chairs and a box of individually-wrapped shortbread (pictured) found in the car park of Longslade Bottom

 Mr McClure, 62, from Sway in the New Forest also found a menu stand in amongst the discarded items 

Mr McClure, 62, from Sway in the New Forest, said: ‘I came across it between 7.30am and 8am. I drove and parked there to take my dogs for a walk.

‘The waste is very unusual and very identifiable. It is from a Wetherspoon pub – there are tables there with all the table numbers still on them.

‘I was thinking they are quite good tables, only need a bit of sanding down, there wasn’t really anything wrong with them.

‘It’s all very odd. How many Wetherspoon pubs are there round here? I know lots have closed.’

He added: ‘It was a shock to see it. And there was a great big box of shortbreads. They were all in date and all new and unopened.

‘I don’t know why a person would dump the shortbreads there as well, it’s all very odd to see. You certainly wouldn’t throw out a box of shortbread.’

The New Forest District Council website states incidents of fly-tipping are taken very seriously.

A spokesperson said: ‘We aim to reduce fly-tipping through increased prosecutions, improved reporting and education.

‘If fly-tipping on council-owned land is reported to us, we will remove it.

Wetherspoon said that both the furniture and the biscuits were being moved from The Night Jar (pictured) in Ferndown in a van that was later stolen 

‘We will investigate all fly-tipping incidents for evidence to help us find the person responsible, so we can prosecute them.

‘If a fly-tip is on private land, it is the landowner or occupier’s responsibility to arrange for it to be removed.’

Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: ‘We have investigated the source of the furniture and the biscuits and they have come from a van belonging to our contractors which was stolen overnight from outside a hotel in Ringwood on 25 September. 

‘Both the furniture and the biscuits were from The Night Jar in Ferndown and were due to be taken to another Wetherspoon pub after the closure of The Night Jar on 24 September. 

‘We are making arrangements for the removal of all the items as soon as possible and will work with the authorities to help find the individuals responsible for the theft of the van and the subsequent illegal dumping of its contents.’

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