Luton company and Hemel Hempstead man prosecuted for fly-tipping on rural roads

A man from Hemel Hempstead and a Luton construction company have been prosecuted by Dacorum Borough Council for fly-tipping in rural areas of the borough.

At a hearing at St Albans Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (January 18), JXI Construction Ltd of New Bedford Road, Luton pleaded guilty to the unauthorised deposit of controlled waste on Coles Lane, Flamstead.

The court heard how in August of last year, a person driving a sign-written Mercedes Sprinter van was caught on cameras dumping waste including cardboard, wood and black bags.

After finding the company, its director failed to engage with officers by failing to respond to a legal notice requesting details of the driver and the vehicle involved. The company fined a £3,700 with costs of £2,561 and victim surcharges of £1,480.

On the same day, Harris Dadd of Woodwhite Way, Hemel Hempstead pleaded guilty to fly-tipping, despite him initially denying the offence during an interview with the Council Environmental Enforcement team.

An officer visited Windmill Road in Markyate on June 27 after receiving a report of a fly-tip. Upon arrival, the officer found a large amount of mixed building waste and traced it back to a residential property in Hemel Hempstead.

After further investigation at the address, it was found that Dadd had been employed to work there and had removed an amount of waste from this address. He was fined £930, a victim surcharge of £373 and costs of £900.

Cllr Julie Banks said: “In Dacorum, we continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to environmental crime and in particular fly-tipping. Our Environmental Enforcement Officers work tirelessly to assess and visit every reported incident of fly-tipping in the borough to evidence the fly-tipping and investigate, where possible, who was responsible for dumping it and or where it has come from.”

She added: “The team issue Fixed Penalty Notices where possible, or collect evidence for larger prosecutions if necessary. Dacorum continues to be at the forefront in tackling waste crime in Hertfordshire.”

Fly-tipping offences can be reported to Dacorum Borough Council via this link.