Preston City Council has been successful in a fly-tipping prosecution against Mr Scott Smith, 31, previously of Riverside Caravan site, Banks, Southport at Preston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 26 April 2017.
Following a report of a fly-tipping incident on 21 September 2016, an officer attended the car park of the unused St Teresa’s Church Hall, Church Avenue, Preston, where he found a quantity of garden waste, building waste and other household waste.
On inspection of the waste he found evidence linking the waste to an address in Neston Street, Preston. Following two visits to the property, a card was left asking the occupier to contact the enforcement officer.
At the time of the second visit the officer became concerned about the accumulation of household waste in the rear garden of the property of which he took a number of photographs.
Mr Smith subsequently contacted the officer claiming that he had engaged a local waste carrier to remove the waste and that he had a receipt to prove this.
On 26 September 2016 the officer became involved in the investigation of another fly-tipping of a large amount of household waste on a road within the grounds of Preston Cemetery.
The enforcement officer recognised the waste – found over a 30 metres stretch of the road – as that he had seen in the back yard of the address on Neston Street three days earlier. An inspection of the contents of the main pile also found correspondence addressed to the occupant of the address in Neston Street.
Those findings prompted the officer to return to the property, where the occupant provided him with a receipt for waste removal services.
Later enquiries about the waste removal company found that there was no record of such local waste removal company being registered as a waste carrier.
Separate enquiries about the transport of waste in Preston revealed that Mr Smith had been involved in transporting scrap metals and end of life vehicles to a local company operating a scrap metal yard. Enquiries with the council’s licensing manager confirmed that Mr Smith is not the holder of a scrap metal collector’s licence.
Adrian Phillips, Director of Environment, said:
“Thanks to the rigorous investigations and continued good work of council officers, we have successfully prosecuted another individual for fly-tipping offences.
“This sends a message to residents that we do take action and operate a robust policy to fly-tipping and waste offences.”
Background information
Offences:
- Failure to comply with duty of care in respect of controlled waste – s. 34(1)(c) and (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – Church Avenue, Preston
- Failure to comply with duty of care in respect of controlled waste – s. 34(1)(c) and (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 – Preston Cemetery, Preston
- Carry on scrap metal business without a licence – s. 1 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013
Sentence:
- Offence 1. £200 compensation
- Offence 2. £400 compensation
- Offence 3. £100 fine
- £30 victims surcharge
- £150 prosecution costs
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