Fly tipper who dumped rubbish and car parts behind Wolverhampton café to pay thousands
A fly tipper who was spotted dumping a van full of rubbish behind a Wolverhampton cafe has been ordered to pay huge costs.
Cristian Costache left household rubbish as well as domestic building waste and vehicle parts in the car park at the back of Ghales Café on Finchfield Road West on February 27.
He was seen fly tipping from a white van at around 6.30pm by a witness who reported it to the police, who then contacted Wolverhampton Council's environmental crime team.
The local authority interviewed Costache and during investigations, it became clear that he had also been involved in a similar incident in South Staffordshire the day before the offence in Wolverhampton.
Costache, of Carter Road, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to fly tipping at Dudley Magistrates Court on October 2. He was fined £933, ordered to a pay a victim surcharge of £373 and costs of £2,412.44.
Wolverhampton Council said the costs awarded to it will be reinvested back into the environmental crime service.
Costache was also fined for the offence in South Staffordshire, where he was seen dumping rubble at Wergs Fishery in Codsall.
South Staffordshire District Council officers investigated that incident and during a separate hearing, the court imposed a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £2,482.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at Wolverhampton Council, said: "We will not stand by and see thoughtless criminals turn our city into a rubbish tip.
“Fly tipping is a deeply unpleasant crime and we will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute anyone who dumps their waste in our streets."
The recent prosecution supports ongoing work under the council’s 'Shop a Tipper' campaign, where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared to appeal for information to help identify them.
Mr Gakhal added: "It’s action like this, alongside our dedicated Shop a Tipper work, that shows we are sending a strong message to fly tippers.
"We would encourage residents to contact us with any information so we can continue to clamp down on offenders.”
Residents can call 01902 552700 with information about suspected fly tippers or report online at www.shopatipper.com
