Contractors began work to remove approximately 2,000 tonnes of earth from the banks of the River Ant at Wayford Mill yesterday (Monday) four years after it was illegally dumped there from the Tesco building site at Stalham.

Since then the Broads Authority has been trying to persuade owner Mark Rogers to move 3000 tonnes of soil which he dumped without planning permission in July 2002, damaging a fragile wetland of immense ecological value and increasing the risk of flooding in the upper Ant Valley.

The land is an important peatland habitat for wildlife and is next to a site of European value for its conservation interest and quality. By depositing different soil on the natural peat the land has been raised and become drier, causing different plant species to become established. This has led to a loss of grazing marsh and associated plant species. It has not only spoilt views over the local countryside and the historic windmill but changed the whole landscape character.

Wayford Mill lies within a natural flood plain which is vitally important for storing flood waters. The volume of material that has been deposited there will displace flood waters and raise flood levels within the surrounding area, leaving areas which are normally at low risk during flood events, at greater risk of flooding.

The decision to move the soil is the culmination of a long running battle with Mr Rogers. The Broads Authority served an enforcement notice on him in December 2002. When he failed to comply with the notice the Authority began prosecution proceedings in October 2003. Mr Rogers was brought to Norwich Crown Court three times during 2004 in an effort to get him to remove the soil.

In April 2004 Judge Daniel Worsley gave Mr Rogers three months to remove the soil but when he reappeared in court in September he still had not restored the site. He was given until December to carry out the work but when he failed to cooperate he was fined £10,000 for causing long term ecological damage to "a fragile ancient wetland" and failing to comply with the notice.

Although Mr Rogers has removed some of the soil the Authority estimates about 2,500 tonnes remain. The work is expected to take two weeks and the cost will be charged to Mr Rogers.

Dr Murray Gray, chairman of the Broads Authority's Planning Committee, said: "This is the first time the Broads Authority has had to take action in this way. It is a last resort. The Authority, as a National Park Authority, is committed to protecting its special landscape qualities and its habitats, which, as well as being rare are fragile, and it will take action to do so where necessary. We have explored every other avenue and option and have no alternative but to clear the site ourselves."

John Abraham, Development Control Engineer for the Environment Agency, said:" We are fully supportive of the action being taken by the Broads Authority and have assisted them in this case from day one."