A ‘DISGRACEFUL’ Northfield fly-tipper has been ordered to pay £650 after being caught on camera dumping waste.
Edward Power, 40, of Fairwood Road, pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates Court yesterday (Thursday) to two instances of fly-tipping on June 17 and 18 last year.
Mr Power said he tried to take the waste to Lifford Way Waste Site but was told he did not have the appropriate licence.
He said he did not know the area so his passenger directed him to Ickneid Street, Heighters Heath, Hollywood, where the waste was dumped.
CCTV had been installed in the area by Bromsgrove District Council a month before as it had been earmarked as a ‘fly-tipping hot-spot’.
Officers were carrying out a routine inspection of the site when they found the large quantity of rubbish, which included wood, furniture and general waste.
On examining the SD cards taken from the camera and from the recording taken at 7.20pm on the June 17, they clearly saw the blue van pull up at the location and the two men unload the large quantity of waste in the layby.
17th June they could clearly see a blue van pull up to the location.
The recording also showed the same vehicle returned at 11.28am the following day and again a large quantity of waste was deposited by the handyman and his passenger. Mr Power accepted full responsibility for the offence.
Magistrates fined him £200 for each offence (£400 in total). He was also ordered to pay £120 compensation, £100 towards the prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of £30 – £650 in total.
Sentencing Power, magistrates described his actions as ‘disgraceful’, saying he had ‘desecrated the countryside’.
A Bromsgrove District Council spokesperson said: “We live in a beautiful part of Worcestershire and fly-tipping will not be tolerated.
“We will continue to invest in deterrents and to use evidence to aid successful prosecutions which could end in custodial sentences.”
PC Simon Albutt from Alvechurch and Wythall SNT said he was extremely happy with the prosecution.
“Fly tipping is a blight on our countryside, we are working with the district council’s enforcement officers to stop this anti-social- behaviour.”
He added the police and the council would always look to convict fly-tippers, adding he hoped this prosecution would send out a clear message to people that it would not be tolerated in the district.
And he urged anyone with any information on fly-tipping to visit http://www.bromsgrove.gov.uk/my-place/street-cleaning/fly-tipping.aspx and report it.
