Earl Spencer has shared a growing problem taking place at his Althorp estate in Northamptonshire. In an article he wrote for the Daily Mail, the 62-year-old described the ongoing dumping of rubbish on the land, including the estate where his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales, spent a large chunk of her childhood.

He wrote: “But last year my family sold its Dallington farmland – 310 acres of it – and what made the sale inevitable was rubbish. This wasn’t litter, nor the odd fridge dumped in a gateway. It was lorry-loads of construction waste tipped in the dead of night, asbestos sheeting left to rot in a hedgerow and, on one occasion, 60 burnt-out cars stacked on what used to be good pasture.”

The late royal’s brother added: “Three years ago, the Althorp team had to tackle half-a-ton of plastic bags thrown over a wall with shovels. It was from a local restaurant, and consisted of rotten meat and putrefying human waste.

“The final straw came last year when the 250-year-old farmhouse on the land was set on fire by criminals and had to be demolished.”

He also added: “To most people, fly-tipping means a sofa on a verge or bin bags where they should not be. On farmland it is a hydra.”

The article comes just weeks after his nephew, Prince Harry, spent some time in the UK with his young family.

Harry, who now resides in California, was joined by Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in his home country.

The Sussex family met King Charles and Queen Camilla on July 10 at Highgrove House – although it remains unknown if they met with Earl Spencer.

Although he remains neutral in their ongoing feud, Earl Spencer is thought to be close to Harry and his older brother, Prince William.

At the late Princess of Wales’ funeral in 1997, Earl Spencer vowed to protect both Harry and William.