Havant man caught red-handed fly-tipping sofas is fined £1,300

Paul Taylor, from Havant, was caught in the act by cameras at Chichester building merchants Covers in May last year.

During a hearing at Portsmouth Crown Court Taylor pleaded guilty to one charge of unlawful deposit of controlled waste and failing to assist in an investigation by not providing information to an authorised person and failing to provide a declaration of truth.

The 59-year-old, of Middle Park Way, was prosecuted by Chichester District Council and ordered to pay a £1,300 fine.

The successful prosecution comes after the council redeployed one of its officers to deal specifically with fly-tipping offences.

Councillor Carol Purnell, cabinet member for housing and environment services, said: ‘Last year our council spent more than £52,000 on cleaning up fly-tipped waste from public land.

‘We are pleased that this is the first of several prosecutions currently taking place to stop people from making a profit at the expense of the environment and the taxpayer.

‘Our enforcement team is working hard to bring fly-tippers to justice and we hope that this sends out a clear message that it’s not acceptable to dump waste or fail to co-operate with our investigations.

‘We know that people often come in from outside our district to fly-tip. We would urge people to be alert and contact us immediately with as much information as possible if they spot fly-tipped waste.’

The council is also urging householders and businesses to check first before hiring an individual or company to take away waste on their behalf.

They are being advised to also note the waste carrier’s name and description, vehicle details and what waste is being taken away.

All legal waste carriers are registered by the Environment Agency and details of a person of company can be found at environment.data.gov.uk.