Fly-tipper must pay £400 after being caught red-handed

The man, in his 30s and from Leicester, drove the van to London Road in Great Glen on 10 October 2021 and illegally dumped its contents, including furniture and other household items (pictured), on to the side of the road – but the Council’s CCTV cameras caught him on film.

Harborough District Council’s enviro-crime team traced the van to a business, but when they contacted its director, it transpired the van had been lent by an employee to a friend who used it to dump the rubbish.

When interviewed, under caution, the man who borrowed the van admitted the offence, and was ordered to pay a £400 fixed penalty notice.

Cllr Jonathan Bateman, Harborough District Council’s Cabinet lead for environmental services, said: “This is another great result from our officers and sends a clear message that fly-tipping will not be tolerated in our district, and that we will do all we can to catch those responsible for blighting our countryside.”

This latest prosecution follows a number of fixed penalty notices – five since April 2021 – issued by Harborough District Council for fly-tipping in recent years, as well as successful court cases, forming part of its award-winning Tip Off campaign to crackdown on the illegal dumping of waste in the Harborough district.

The campaign has resulted in a significant reduction in fly-tipping in the district over the past two-years, bucking the national trend.

There are several ways to dispose of the waste that cannot go into wheeled bins:

• Take large waste items to your local recycling and waste site (tip)
• Use a licensed waste carrier to remove your waste - it is a legal requirement to use a licensed waste carrier (you can also check if someone has a licence on the Environment Agency website)
• The Council’s large (bulky) waste items for collection service allows for up to three large household items or 12 sacks of waste to be collected for a charge of £35.04.

Find out more about Tip Off on the Council’s website at www.harborough.gov.uk/tipoff