An Oxfordshire man (previously living in South Gloucestershire) has been ordered to pay £1,071 in fines and costs after admitting fly tipping waste in Little Stoke.
Stephen Wilkes, 25, of Witney, Oxfordshire, appeared before North Avon Magistrates’ Court on Friday 21st August. He pleaded guilty to fly tipping waste and not having a Waste Transfer Note or a Registered Waste Carriers Licence to transport the waste. He was fined £555 with a victim surcharge of £56 and costs of £350, plus clear up costs of £110.
The court heard that a Bradley Stoke resident had contacted Wilkes after he advertised a ‘rubbish removals and clearances’ business via Facebook and agreed to remove the resident’s waste for £30. Wilkes collected and loaded the waste into his vehicle at midday on 5th November 2014. However, just 30 minutes later he was witnessed dumping the waste in a residential cul-de-sac off Lawford Avenue in Little Stoke. He was challenged by a witness, but sped off in his vehicle.
Wilkes was eventually traced to an address in Witney, Oxfordshire and interviewed. He initially denied the offences of fly tipping, claiming that someone else had impersonated him on Facebook. He changed his story in court and admitted depositing the waste, claiming that he had given a gypsy £20 to collect the rubbish from where he dumped it, but was let down.
Dumped in Trench Lane
In a second case heard at North Avon Magistrates’ Court, on Friday 4th September, a Hartcliffe man pleaded guilty to fly-tipping in Trench Lane, Winterbourne.
Jonathan Owen Stanley, 24, of Tynte Avenue, Hartcliffe, pleaded guilty to fly tipping waste, not having a Waste Transfer Note or a Registered Waste Carriers Licence to transport the waste, and was fined £320, with a victim surcharge of £32 and costs of £1,000.
A resident of Southmead first contacted Stanley having noticed him on Facebook, where he was offering his services to remove waste for payment. Stanley agreed to remove the waste for £20, claiming he had a Registered Waste Carriers Licence and would be taking the waste to Bristol City Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre in Avonmouth.
The waste was later found fly tipped at Trench Lane and traced back to Stanley.
Dumped in Station Road
Earlier this year, a Little Stoke man was prosecuted for fly tipping waste in Station Road, Patchway.
Andrew Chadwick, 38, of Olympus Close appeared before North Avon Magistrates’ Court on 18th June for the offence of fly tipping. He admitted dumping six black bin liners containing household waste in the hedgerow on Station Road and was ordered to pay a total of £582 in fines and costs.
South Gloucestershire Council’s Communities Committee Chair Cllr Heather Goddard said:
“These latest prosecutions serve as another reminder that if you are involved in the illegal dumping of waste in South Gloucestershire, you will be prosecuted. Residents are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier or they could be held liable if waste is subsequently fly tipped.”
“You can carry out these simple steps to make sure your waste is disposed of legally:
• Ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken. Legitimate firms will be happy to provide this information. Do not be tempted to use people offering cheap waste clearance on sites such as Facebook and Gumtree unless you have confirmed that they are registered.
• Check whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website.
• Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt.”
• For more information, visit www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
Photo: Rubbish fly-tipped on Trench Lane in Winterbourne.
This article originally appeared in the October 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
