MYSTERY surrounds the appearance of several hundred video tapes in a remote County Durham field.

A jogger contacted The Northern Echo after noticing the haul – which includes Hollywood titles and an entire collection of Carry On movies – while out on a run.

The videos were apparently dumped in a field near Headlam Hall Hotel, near Darlington.

A spokesman for Durham Police said the videos had not been reported to officers.

The jogger who noticed the videos said: “I regularly go out running and have come across a few things - mainly the unwanted CDs and DVDs thrown out of a car, abandoned kittens and numerous odd rubber gloves!

"While out on my daily run [on Sunday (April 28)] morning, I came across pre-recorded videos which seem to have been tipped in a field," he said.

“There appear to be thousands of fruit boxes loaded with videos all scattered along one side of the field.

“Whoever dumped them there must have had a large van or trailer, as there are so many.

“I'm not sure who owns the field, or if anyone else has seen them there.

“I’m guessing they have been dumped there in the night.

“I can't understand the mentality of someone who would just litter the field with videos.

“Why not take them to the local refuse site or, even better, to a charity shop?”