Council urges residents to help in fight against fly tippers

Any waste left on land without permission is fly-tipping, from dumping spoil onto private farms and rural tracks to household rubbish bags left in lay-bys or other areas.

The council takes a no tolerance approach to fly-tipping together with partners across the county with those caught facing strict penalties including fines, vehicles seized or even prison sentences because the dumping harms communities and the environment, and incurs costs to taxpayers to clean it up.Suspected fly-tipping can be reported to the council at any time at n-kesteven.gov.uk/flytipping

It follows a combined total of £11,598.87 in fines, court costs and surcharges handed to five people over the last four months – plus a driving ban to one of them – after they were caught fly-tipping in North Kesteven.

Reece Lawson, 25, of Winthorpe Road in Newark, has been ordered to pay £1,128 after dumping four refuse sacks from a vehicle on Norton Lane, Thurlby Moor. The amount consists of a fine of £480 reduced following an early guilty plea, plus contribution to costs of £600 and a victim surcharge of £48.

William Jones, 41, of Lowfield Paddocks in Stragglethorpe, is currently under a three month driving ban until July 24 after admitting fly-tipping in Holdingham. The ban was handed to him on Monday April 25 in proceedings at Boston Magistrates’ Court, following a joint investigation by North Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire Police’s Rural Crime Team.

Jones admitted dumping rubbish at the Holdingham Biogas site including gas canisters, tree branches and green waste, toys and a wooden storage shed on August 28 last year. CCTV images captured the items being tipped from a truck.

In addition to the driving ban Jones was ordered to pay a total of £3,388.25 – consisting of a £1,600 fine reduced for his early guilty plea, £695.50 in clean-up costs, £932.75 in legal costs and an £160 victim surcharge.

Meanwhile Bryn Davies, 37, of Station Road in Harmston, was ordered to pay £1,050 in total after he was caught by CCTV cameras fly-tipping in his own village. Davies pleaded guilty to fly-tipping household waste at Blackmoor Road in Harmston and was fined £500 at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court on April 14. He was also ordered to pay an additional £50 victim surcharge and £500 contribution to court costs.

The CCTV cameras which caught the offence had been fitted at the lay-by to tackle fly-tipping there, in addition to a ‘Scrap Fly-tipping’ public awareness campaign supported by the council and partners.

Also earlier this year, on Tuesday April 12, Connor Moon, 29, from Chatsworth Road in Newark pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court to fly-tipping tyres and household waste at Stapleford Woods. He was fined £480 and a victim surcharge of £48, in addition to court costs of £1,513.62.

And Keith Saunders, 33, from Arthur Street in Lincoln, owner of City Construction in Lincoln was ordered to pay a total of £3,991.00 after a joint investigation by North Kesteven District Council and Lincolnshire Police’s Rural

Crime Team.

On Thursday January 21 last year, a witness reported seeing rubble being fly-tipped on The Avenue in Swinderby. A Ford Transit was seen leaving the scene where builders’ waste had been tipped, which could be linked to a company called City Construction. On Saturday June 19, 2021 another incident of fly tipping of construction waste was reported at a rural location on Dycote Lane in Welbourn, which through investigation was linked to a company named City Construction.

North Kesteven District Council officers together with the Rural Crime Team made detailed enquiries and on Friday March 11 this year Saunders, owner of City Construction, pleaded guilty at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court to two offences of fly-tipping on the basis that he was in control of the business and had failed to ensure that the waste was properly disposed of.

He received a fine of £2,133, reduced from £3,200 for guilty plea. He was also ordered to pay legal costs of £816 and clean-up costs of £385, plus a contribution to legal costs of £476 and victim surcharge of £181.

North Kesteven District Council Leader Coun Richard Wright, said: “Fly-tipping on any scale is not acceptable or excusable, and we take a no tolerance approach to it in our district as these cases show and through our involvement in the county-wide Environmental Crime Partnership. Where fly-tipping does occur we will investigate and take all action we can, including bringing cases to court with partners including Lincolnshire Police.

“During the warm weather summer usually brings, we know lots of people like to take the opportunity to clear out their homes and garages of clutter. We’re asking residents to continue playing their part by ensuring they know where their waste is going and by staying vigilant to unscrupulous carriers, as this can make all the difference in preventing fly-tipping.

“You can use the SCRAP code to ensure anyone who takes your waste away is a legitimate waste carrier who will deal with your rubbish properly. It’s your responsibility to know what’s happened with your waste and together we can all help protect our environment from those who think they can dump rubbish in it.”

Ayeisha Kirkham, chairman of the Environmental Crime Partnership, said: “Fly-tipping blights our natural spaces, ruins our enjoyment of the places we live in, and poses a danger to wildlife. In built up areas it can also pose a danger to pets and people and attract pests.

“Households are some of our greatest allies in preventing fly-tipping from happening in the first instance and we thank everyone who stays vigilant and ensures they dispose of waste correctly, including at Household Waste Recycling Centres or through legitimate waste carriers and bulky waste services. By remembering the SCRAP fly-tipping code this summer, you can make a real impact.”

There were 1,537 fly-tips found in North Kesteven between April 2020 and March 2021 with reporting helped by eagle-eyed residents who during Covid were walking around more of their surrounding areas. In April 2021 to March 2022 there were 1,155, with residents continuing to alert the council to fly-tips.

If you have some work done on your property or if you pay someone to take away your waste, make sure they are registered with the Environment Agency.

You can check at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

If a person is buying or collecting scrap metal they also need the correct licences. See n-kesteven.gov.uk/business/licensing/business-licences-and-conditions/business-licences/scrap-metal-dealer-licensing/

NKDC offers this reminder to householders:

S USPECT all waste carriers; do not let them take your waste until they have proven themselves to be legitimate. A professional waste carrier should happily answer reasonable questions.

C HECK their waste carrier’s registration details, then verify them by searching the Environment Agency website or by calling 03708 506 506. Note down the registration number of the vehicle used to take your waste away.

R EFUSE unexpected offers to have any rubbish taken away. If you do not trust that someone who you have spoken to will be disposing of waste legally, report their vehicle registration and name to the Environment Agency.

A SK what will happen to your rubbish and seek evidence that it is going to be disposed of appropriately.

P APERWORK should be obtained. Make sure you get a full receipt and waste transfer note for your waste removal. This should give a description of the waste and provide the waste carrier’s licence number and contact details.

If you see fly-tipping which has occurred you can report it at any time via the council’s website at n-kesteven.gov.uk/flytipping or to Lincolnshire Police via its website.

If you witness a fly-tip happening, do not put yourself in danger. Make note of any vehicle registration number involved if you can, take photos of the rubbish when safe to do so and use What3Words to help provide an accurate location of the fly-tip when reporting it. If someone is in danger, call 999.