A man passionate about the environment was in for a massive shock after discovering children had built a den out of a large fly tip he was sorting.

Thomas Seymour, 28, from Thetford, has cleaned up more than 300 bags of rubbish over the past three months from a patch of woodland between the Abbey Estate and the A11 which has seen a recent rise in illegal dumping.

And after beginning to sort through a large new arrival, Mr Seymour was frustrated to find what he thought was yet another new fly tip - before discovering it was a couple of 10-year-olds moving the unwanted goods around the woodland.

He said: "I hadn't got round to sorting the fly tip out yet because it was a particularly big one.

"It wasn't until I saw children taking items from the tip to add to the camp that I realised what had happened."

Household items such as a kitchen chair, an ironing board and a fan had been taken from the tip by the children and moved to a different part of the woods.

But while Mr Seymour said he "didn't mind" the children playing with the fly tip, he added it was just a "shame" they had moved it into the part of the forest which he had recently cleaned.

He said: "They were just a little disappointed when I told them the whole fly tip would be gone within the next few weeks so we can keep the woods clean."

In August, Mr Seymour helped prevent a fire from spreading from his favourite wooded area after coming across the flames while litter picking.

Mr Seymour, who works for Wiser Recycling, spoke of his passion for a greener world.

He said: "I love wildlife - I can't stand by and watch people ruin it.

"I try and save the environment in my job and then I do it when I finish too."

Mr Seymour wishes it was more of a community effort and wants to encourage others to follow his lead.

He said: "I've tried to drum up interest but it's difficult to get people to help."