Man to pay £2,000 after being found guilty of being in control of a vehicle used in fly-tipping
On Wednesday 25th January 2017, at High Wycombe Magistrates Court, a 25 year old man from High Wycombe was found guilty of offence of being in control of a vehicle used in fly-tipping.
The court heard that on Thursday 7th April 2016 a fly-tipping surveillance camera in a lay-by on the A355 Amersham Road, just north of Beaconsfield, recorded images of excavation waste being deposited by an unknown person from a Ford Transit vehicle. The vehicle was subsequently traced to the 25 year old man.
When interviewed at a police station the 25 year old man misled the investigating officers saying that he had sold the vehicle in question. When presented with evidence to the contrary he admitted that he did still own the vehicle but had lent it to a third party. The man claimed that he found this person intimidating which is why he had first given a different story.
At the trial another man came forward and claimed he owned and had control of the vehicle used to commit the offence, but the Magistrates were not convinced.
The 25 year old man was fined £1,153 and ordered to pay clean-up and prosecution costs in the sum of £800. A victim surcharge of £115 was also levied, making a total to pay of £2,068.
Sir Beville Stanier, Chairman of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: ‘This case demonstrates how the enforcement officers working to deter illegal dumping in Buckinghamshire are taking a proactive approach with hidden surveillance cameras that are catching significantly more offenders in the act.
I hope this case will act as a deterrent to would be fly-tippers and remind them that it is just not worth the risk.‘