A lawnmower appears to have been fly-tipped in the River Thaw, off the footbridge at the back of Millfield Drive.

It was spotted yesterday afternoon and has since been removed by resident Don Sweeney.

"I removed the mower this morning with help from a couple of neighbours," he told Nub News.

"I wanted to remove it straight away, but it was after dark. In the morning, after completing some landscaping works in our garden, I popped out of our garden with a rake to fish it out of the river.

"Our property backs onto the river, so it is in our interest to help keep the river tidy of such things where we have the means to do so.

"Likewise, it's the neighbourly thing to do, removing unsightly objects that don't belong in the river.

"It is a well travelled foot path in Cowbridge, so it's nice for the wider Cowbridge community and visitors using it to see it looking neat and tidy.

"If people see things are just dumped into the river, they may feel encouraged to follow suit and dump other things into the river.

"It's not the first thing I've removed from the river that's been thrown in by the bridge. Over Easter, we found a Waitrose shopping trolley had been rolled into the river which I pulled out, dried off and walked back to Waitrose."

On social media, residents said dumping the item was "shameful" and "mindless".

A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said: "The Council is aware of this instance of fly-tipping.

"Anyone with any information is asked to get in touch.

"Our environmental enforcement officers regularly patrol known fly-tipping hotspots and respond to any reports relating to this offence.

"Fly-tipping is a crime and an issue we take extremely seriously. Anyone found to be committing this type of offence could face serious consequences, which include being issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice, prosecution, fines of up to £50,000 or even imprisonment."