Dumped 'cannabis' found by farmer

Mr Thomas said the plants he found were very similar to cannabis

Police are investigating after 40kg of cannabis plant waste was found on an organic farm.

Gwyn Thomas of Nant Ffrancon, Gwynedd, said he was worried livestock could have eaten the plants and that they could harm the land if they seeded.

Mr Thomas said he estimated there could be up to 40kg of waste dumped in nine to 10 piles.

"I'm angry because something is being dumped constantly, people are just too lazy to take stuff to the local dump."

He added: "I saw piles of something had been dumped and I went to investigate in case it was something which could harm the animals," said Mr Thomas, who raises mountain sheep and Welsh black cattle on his 302 hectare farm.

'Organic status'

"It looks exactly like someone has cleared their greenhouse with little four-inch pots containing inch long stumps, and bits and pieces of small stalks and leaves not dissimilar to stinging nettles."

"It's not just the fact that the animals could have been affected, the plants could have seeded themselves causing a problem especially since we do not spray here because of our organic status."

A spokesperson on behalf on the National Trust said: "We condemn all cases of illegal fly-tipping on National Trust land due to its detrimental impact on the environment.

"This activity not only threatens our tenants' livelihoods but the clear-up costs can also be very significant."