Barely three weeks into the new year and we already have a strong contender for the strangest story of the year — a cycle lane in Suffolk blocked by a dumped pile of sugar beet estimated to weigh 700 tonnes.
The Ipswich Star reports the crop, which caused confusion and some amusement when it was spotted in the cycleway and bus route on the Old Norwich Road just outside Ipswich on Tuesday, has since been removed.
A lorry and JCB were photographed at the site on Wednesday morning as the crop mountain was removed, a farmer apologising for the disruption caused by his baffling beet blockage, before saying the wet weather meant he had been unable to get lorries onto his land.
The route links from the north-west of Ipswich to the Hill View Business Park, the stretch of road in question closed to traffic except permit holders, buses and cyclists, perhaps explaining the decision to leave the load on a perceived quieter route, however as Suffolk County Council pointed out "it's a live bus route" and the beet was "covering part of the path and cycleway".
John Latham of Blakenham Farms said he had used the location to store produce before and that it was only meant to be a temporary solution ahead of the beet's transportation to British Sugar later in the week, a move that was brought forward following objections from Suffolk Highways and the council.
"Because of the extreme weather conditions we've had, we tried to avoid getting mud onto the highways," he said. "We used to use that lay-by several years ago to store our sugar beet, but it's kicked off big time. I've since found out in the sense that the road is no longer going to be deemed a lay-by. No markings have been put up though, and no traffic goes through there – only buses and cyclists.
"They parked all the parts for that large generator that went up to Eye a few weeks ago, too. Perhaps in hindsight, I should have contacted the council and I apologise for that. We certainly didn't go out of our way to cause havoc. I've been working at the farm for 37 years and never had anything like this before."
It is estimated the mountain totalled 700 tonnes. With the 2024-25 British Sugar and the National Farmers Union contract stating the crop is valued at £40 per tonne, the dumped beet would have been worth up to £28,000.
Suffolk Highways raised the alarm on Tuesday, saying the load had been "fly-tipped", an accusation which many within the farming community rejected, before the council later stated it did not know "why it's there, or who put it there".
A Suffolk Highways spokesperson commented on the bizarre situation, saying: "We were unaware that the produce would be left at the location. The road is a live bus route and where the produce has been left is part of the cycleway and should not be used as a holding bay for produce."
A British Sugar spokesperson added: "We are aware of sugar beet awaiting collection on Old Norwich Road, and have spoken to the farmer who assures us it will be moved and sent to the Bury factory by tomorrow.
"Safety and health is at the heart of all our operations and we do remind all our growers, contractors and hauliers of the importance of respecting local communities and highways in our campaign handbook, which is issued prior to the harvest each year. We expect them to adhere to these guidelines."