Spaniards Lane

Duty of care prosecution after Christmas fly-tip

A man has been prosecuted after a using another person’s vehicle which led to the fly-tipping of a huge amount of waste following a house renovation.

 

Just before Christmas in 2018, a resident who was having their home renovated, took precautions by making notes of the vehicles and company they had hired to take away their waste from the project.

 

Then, after this waste was found fly-tipped, Test Valley Borough Council officers managed to track down the person who was using the vehicle, who admitted a duty of care offence in court last week.

 

John Luke Anderson, 24, of Bransbury Close, Southampton, admitted that he had control and was using the vehicle that had been used to fly-tip the waste by a friend of his, on Spaniards Lane in Romsey, almost two years ago. The sizeable fly-tip included materials such as bricks, metal, plasterboard and other building waste.

 

At Southampton Magistrates Court on November 6, Mr Anderson admitted that he was in control of the waste at the time that the fly-tip took place, but denied fly-tipping it himself, and said that he expected the waste would be disposed of lawfully, having been dropped at home by his friend before the dumping took place.

 

He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £1,150 in costs for breaching his duty of care of the waste under his control which became the subject of a fly tip. Despite denying fly-tipping the waste, the presiding district judge commented that Mr Anderson would be sentenced in the same manner due to the seriousness of the offence.

 

Environmental portfolio holder, councillor Alison Johnston, said:

This is a very important lesson that it definitely pays off to make the right checks when using a waste carrier to remove items from your property. Because of the resident’s checks, we were able to find the person connected with the fly-tip, and ensure they had their day in court.

This sizeable fine should act as a lesson to those who think they can get away with this crime. In Test Valley, we always investigate every fly-tip that is reported to us. This was a lengthy case due to the investigatory work that was needed to locate the vehicle owner, but we will never give up. My thanks once again to the officers involved in ensuring this great result.

 

Anyone who would like advice on disposing of waste can call the council’s offices on 01794 527700 or 01264 368000.

 


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