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Dumped sugar beet crop removed from cycleway

Darren Rozier/BBC Diggers and a truck being used to remove sugar beetDarren Rozier/BBC
Vehicles were seen removing the sugar beet on Wednesday morning

A large pile of dumped sugar beet blocking a cycle route has now been removed.

The crop was left on Tuesday on the cycleway on Old Norwich Road in north-west Ipswich.

In a now deleted post on X, Suffolk Highways said the crop had been "fly-tipped".

Suffolk County Council, which runs Suffolk Highways, has been contacted for comment.

Darren Rozier/BBC A large pile of sugar beet on a cyclewayDarren Rozier/BBC
A "large amount" of sugar beet had been blocking a cycle route near Ipswich

In the 2024-25 British Sugar and the National Farmers Union contract, the crop is worth £40 per tonne.

Suffolk Highways previously said: "We are aware of the large amount of sugar beet that has been fly-tipped along Old Norwich Road.

"We hope the owner will come and collect and remove it as soon as possible."

That part of Old Norwich Road between Ipswich and Claydon is for buses and cycles only.

On Wednesday morning, a lorry and JCB were photographed removing the sugar beet, but it is not known who organised the removal.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the council said: "We don’t know why it’s there, or who put it there.

"It’s a live bus route and it’s currently covering part of the path/cycleway.

"We’ve made contact with the borough council regarding it and we hope the owner will collect and remove it as soon as possible."

Stuart Howells/BBC Sugar beet on a cycle wayStuart Howells/BBC
Suffolk Highways, part of Suffolk County Council, previously said it did not know who put the crop on the cycle route

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