A LETTER addressed to Michael Portillo has been found among heaps of rubbish dumped on a cycle path in County Durham – 250 miles from the former Tory MP's London home.

As reported in The Northern Echo on Monday, about 40 to 50 tonnes of waste was dropped at a tunnel next to the A66 at Sadberge, near Darlington.

In among the rubbish, which appears to consist of household recycling, are many envelopes bearing South-East addresses as well as Southend United programmes from 2015.

The piles of waste are compressed, as though they have been processed at a recycling plant, and one of the envelopes carries the Westminster address of Michael Portillo.

There is no suggestion the TV personality is in any way involved in the fly-tipping.

The letter was discovered by a dog walker, who was shocked to stumble across the trash and stopped to have a closer look.

She said: "It was absolutely disgusting, and stunk as there were milk bottles in amongst the rubbish. I wanted to know where it had come from and so I decided to take a closer look.

"There were letters among the rubbish, and I noticed one on the floor. I wasn't really looking for the name, but the address to work out where the waste had come from. When I spotted Michael Portillo's name I was astounded."

Police issued a warning last month after waste disguised as hay bales were dumped at a farmer's field near Bishop Auckland and at Northallerton. The Environment Agency has launched an investigation.

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council confirmed the litter was being cleaned up.