Three fly-tippers fined following action by Durham County Council

Stephen Fletcher, of Burnett Crescent, Kelloe, was captured on CCTV disposing of an unwanted caravan in a layby near Fishburn.

Magistrates in Peterlee heard that a Durham County Council investigation uncovered the forty-four-year-old’s involvement after a neighbourhood warden found the remains of a burnt out caravan on 1 June 2021.

Waste left by Stephen Paterson

Footage from a CCTV camera in the layby, showed a blue Ford Transit van, being driven by Fletcher, towing a caravan. The van stopped and three males disappeared behind the van, before returning to the vehicle and driving away, leaving the caravan behind.

Fletcher was requested to attend an interview to help the council with its enquiries, but failed to show, advising the court that he had not received the notice due to a change of address.

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Fletcher pleaded guilty plea to one count under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and was ordered to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £1,306.

A conviction was also secured against a licensed waste carrier who failed to provide a responsible service, following an unrelated incident.

Stephen Paterson of Cobden Street, Darlington pleaded guilty to one charge under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and was ordered to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £2,100.

The vehicle used in the offence was seized by the council and sold for £3,894, which will be used to fund local community groups’ environmental projects.

Waste left by John Ponting

Peterlee Magistrates Court heard that on 26 November 2020 a neighbourhood warden investigated flytipped waste on private land at Greenfield Way in Newton Aycliffe.

The waste included items which showed the addresses of a woman and a man, both of whom confirmed that they had hired a company called Total Rubbish Removal to dispose of their waste.

Both parties showed council officers documentation and messages which included photographs of thirty-eight-year-old Paterson and his vehicle, as well as details of a registered waste carrier licence.

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On 3 June 2021, a council neighbourhood warden spotted Paterson’s vehicle and followed it to Hackworth Industrial Estate in Shildon. The van was stopped by police, who were able to confirm that Paterson was the driver and registered keeper of the vehicle. Payment documents linked to Total Rubbish Removal were discovered inside the van.

Later that month, Paterson failed to attend an interview to assist council officers with their investigation.

In court, Paterson stated that he hadn’t personally fly tipped the waste but had arranged for another company to remove the waste on his behalf and accepted that he was ultimately responsible. He stated that he did not recall receiving any correspondence from the council in relation to attending an interview.

In a third hearing at Peterlee Magistrates Court, John Ponting, of Ashgrove Avenue, Hartlepool was fined for his part in a flytipping incident at Sheraton, near Darlington.

The forty-two-year-old pleaded guilty to one count under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and another under the Environment Act 1995.

Neighbourhood wardens attended the scene of a report of flytipped waste on 19 November 2020. A local resident pointed out the vehicle responsible, but the vehicle made off at speed when the wardens attempted to follow it.

CCTV footage showed the White Ford Transit tipper van, which Ponting was later identified as the driver of, travelling towards the location of the fly tip, fully laden and then returning, empty.

In January 2021, Ponting failed to respond to a request to attend an interview to help assist officers with their enquiry.

Magistrates heard that Ponting accepted that although he did not benefit from the offence, his actions as the driver of the vehicle were wrong. Ponting stated that he had misplaced loyalty towards the people who had removed the items from the truck.

Considering Ponting’s early guilty plea and his personal circumstances, the court ordered him to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge, totalling £1,189.

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “Flytipping incidents across County Durham have cost the council approximately £800,000 to clear in the past 12 months. This significantly impacts on our budgets and is both damaging to wildlife as well as adversely impacting the local environment. Those who commit such offences are undermining legitimate business that are set up to carry out waste removal and disposal functions.

“It is particularly disappointing that, in two of these cases, residents were misled into believing that they were employing the services of legitimate waste carriers who would dispose of their waste in an appropriate way.”

To find out more about how to dispose of waste, visit www.durham.gov.uk/recycling.

To report a flytipping incident, visit www.durham.gov.uk/flytipping.

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