Fly-tippers from County Durham have been hit in the pocket by more than £1,000 each over two separate cases of illegal waste dumping.

Durham County Council has successfully taken legal action following fly-tipping incidents at a Langley Park allotment and at Bishop Auckland Rugby Club.

The first case arose from the dumping of a large amount of household waste, including a tub chair, broken furniture and other pieces of broken timber, at the allotment, on March 17.

CCTV cameras in place at the site captured footage showing the waste being dumped from a van.

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Inquiries revealed the van owner to be David King, of Davis Crescent, in Langley Park.

The 37-year-old admitted fly-tipping when he appeared at Peterlee Magistrates Court.

The Northern Echo:

In mitigation, he told the magistrates he thought the land was owned by a friend and that he had permission to use it to deposit waste.

But he conceded he should have taken further steps to check this was the case.

The defendant, who was given credit for his early guilty plea, was fined £200 and ordered to pay £816.40 costs, plus a £34 victim surcharge, totalling £1,050.40.

In a separate case at the court, Nathan Robinson, of Bishop Auckland, was found guilty of failing to assist with an investigation into a fly-tip at the entrance to the town’s rugby ground, at West Mills Playing Fields.

Council wardens found several bags of household waste at the site in November last year.

Evidence found in the bags linked the waste to Robinson, of Surtees Street in the town.

A council tax check confirmed the defendant lived at that address, but the 22-year-old did not respond to a letter and he failed to attend an interview as part of the investigation.

As Robinson did not attend court, the case was heard in his absence.

He was fined £660 and ordered to pay costs of £338.20, as well as a £66 victim surcharge, totalling £1,064.

Read more: Rural County Durham spot targeted by 'shameful' fly-tipping

Ian Hoult, the council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “Fly-tipping is taken very seriously in County Durham.

“We will always take action against the illegal dumping of waste to help reduce environmental damage.

“Hopefully, this case, in particular also serves as a reminder to everyone that their waste is their responsibility.

“There are many ways of disposing of waste correctly across the county, whether that be household waste recycling centres or booking a bulky waste collection.”

He added: “There is no excuse for fly-tipping and we will continue to support our communities in tackling it.”

Further information about the issue is available via www.durham.gov.uk/flytipping, which also gives details about reporting such incidents.

Read next:

Man handed £800 fine for fly-tipping at Bishop Auckland green site

Hunt for Middlesbrough fly-tipper caught dumping rubbish

Darlington man fined over £1000 for fly-tipping offences

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