A POO-DUNNIT investigation has been launched to find out who’s been dumping mountains of manure around a picturesque village in the run up to Christmas.

“The Phantom Poo-Dumper of Bishopton” – as the culprit has been branded by locals – is considered public enemy ‘number two’ in the County Durham community of Bishopton.

Several huge piles of horse dung have mysteriously appeared overnight on roads and lay-bys, as well as blocking the entrances to farms.

With some measuring up to 50-feet long, and others stacked six-feet high, the villagers have now been put on “poo-watch” by the local council in a bid to catch the demon dumper.

Villager Paul Frost, who has lived in Bishopton for 15 years, said: “I’ve never seen anything like it. These aren’t just small piles of poo – they’re mountains of manure and it’s got completely out of hand.”

Mr Frost, a former television presenter, added: “We’ve suffered from fly-tipping before, with fridges, freezers, washing machines, cannabis plants and even a caravan dumped in the past – but this is the last straw.

“When it first started, we thought it was just a farmer who’d temporarily left it in one spot before moving it onto a field.

“But the first heap gradually grew, and then more and more steaming piles began appearing in different locations.

“We’ve got lots of liveries and stables nearby but they’re all responsible horse-owners, so God knows where it’s all coming from.”

The mystery has been the talk of the village pub, The Blue Bell, where chef, Richie Wall, described it as “absolutely shocking”.

“Customers have been talking about it every day for the past few weeks – it’s affecting every road into the village. It’s clearly someone with a big trailer because there’s an awful lot of **** out there.”

The scandal appears to be spreading, with the neighbouring villages of Stillington and Whitton also affected.

Brian Jones, who represents Bishopton on Darlington Borough Council, has now called in the local authority’s “Street Scene” team in to begin the big clean-up.

As chair of the council’s scrutiny committee, Councillor Jones – a former police officer – is more used to investigating complaints over dog fouling.

“That’s bad enough but this is another level altogether,” he admitted. “What I don’t understand is why they aren’t selling the manure to gardeners.

“Fly-tipping of any kind is a very serious matter, so I’d urge locals to be on the alert and phone the council or the police if they see anything suspicious,” he said.

“What we need is to catch the guilty party in the act – that’s the only way we’re going to get to the bottom of it.”