Fly-tipper billed hundreds of pounds after illegally dumping foliage
A fly-tipper was handed a court bill of hundreds of pounds after being captured on camera illegally disposing of foliage in Walsall - despite living closer to a recycling centre than where he dropped his rubbish.
The driver of a silver vehicle was caught on CCTV illegally dumping the foliage in Rayboulds Bridge Road on July 16, 2021.
Inquiries with the registered keeper revealed the driver to be Michael Evans, of Napier Road, Walsall.
In August 2021, Evans attended Walsall Council House to be interviewed and admitted the offence of fly-tipping.
He was subsequently issued a fixed penalty notice for £400 which he failed to pay, resulting in him being summoned to court.
Evans appeared at Dudley Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and entered a guilty plea.
He stated that he had not paid the fixed penalty notice because he could not pay the amount in full and could only pay by instalments, but that facility was unavailable.
The judge awarded the council’s costs in the sum of £432.80 and also imposed a surcharge of £23.
The court heard Evans suffered with financial hardship.
Evans escaped a fine but was given a six-month conditional discharge.
Two other fly-tipping cases were due to be heard but the defendants failed to attend court and warrants have been issued.
Councillor Garry Perry, Walsall Council's deputy leader for resilient communities, said: “My thanks, as ever, go to our community protection and legal services team for their sterling work. The message should be loud and clear by now; we do not tolerate this behaviour in Walsall.
“What I think many of us will struggle to understand is why Mr Evans committed a criminal act when he lives closer to a household waste recycling facility, where he could have legally disposed of his waste free of charge, than he does to the place he chose to fly-tip it.”
The fly-tipping of controlled waste is a serious criminal offence which carries a fine of up to £20,000 – unlimited if indicted to the crown court – and an offender can even be sent to prison.
Cleaning up and legally disposing of fly-tipped waste in the borough of Walsall costs around £500,000 per year – money from the public purse which could instead be spent on other valued services.
There are two household waste and recycling centres in the borough which are free to use by residents.
