A car park beside one of East Hampshire’s most popular open spaces could be closed because of fly-tippers.

The Ministry of Defence has threatened to close its Liss Forest car park due to a rise in littering and illegal fly-tipping. The site off Forest Road is an entrance point to Longmoor and one of several troop debussing points around the ranges.

But while the majority of its users are law-abiding ramblers, cyclists and dog walkers, some are misusing the space with several bags of household waste being dumped at the site on Tuesday (March 26). The increase in dumping has prompted a warning from the MOD with notices appearing around the car park.

The notice reads: “There has been an elevated frequency of fly-tipping and littering in this troop debussing area. If the training area and car park continues to be abused it will be closed to parking.”

A spokeswoman for the MOD’s South East Operations Room couldn’t give a figure on the number of fly-tipping incidents at the site because of IT issues, but confirmed there has been a rise.

She claimed that similar notices have been put up at debussing sites around the south east as the problem is worsening.

She said: “There’s been a few at that (Forest Road) site over the few weeks but it’s also happening across the area – there are other areas that are worse than this.”

Anyone who sees fly-tipping or littering in progress at the site should call the Operations Room on 01420 483405.