A 'significant' waste site has been discovered in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.

It is believed to be linked to further waste sites which had previously been uncovered in the Ballygawley and Sanholes areas.

The site, in the Galbally area, is currently being assessed by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

Derek Williamson from NIEA's Environmental Crime Unit said: "The volume of waste in the most recent site is still being assessed. Previously, we estimated the collective total of these waste deposits exceeded 22,000 tonnes. While subject to further estimates, we now expect volumes to exceed 30,000 tonnes. To put this into context, it would be equivalent to 12 Olympic swimming pools filled with rubbish.

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"It would take considerable effort to transport and dump rubbish on such a large scale. The potential environmental effect of any unauthorised waste deposit is clear. Aside from this, there is the cost of cleaning it up.

"These incidents and their links give rise to particular concern that south and east Tyrone is being used by unscrupulous criminals to illegally dispose of waste. This is why we have now linked these incidents and have appealed for public help in detecting and preventing further deposits."

(CD/LM)