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Pheasant takes a selfie

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Flytipping is a scourge of the countryside.

To crack down on the illegal dumping of waste in County Durham, the council installed hidden CCTV at known hotspots.

But when they checked the cameras they discovered a culprit unlikely to be brought in front of the beak. A curious pheasant had taken a selfie.

Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager Ian Hoult said: “There was some excitement in the office when it was thought that one of our cameras had been triggered and again caught a criminal.

“But thankfully on this occasion, nobody had fallen ‘fowl’ of the law.”

Flytipping is a serious offence which blights the environment, can pollute rivers and other waterways, endangers wildlife and is costly to clean up. If waste is flytipped and is traced back to the perpetrator, they can be prosecuted and fined up to £50,000.