Working together to combat fly-tipping

Mark Ashby, 62, of Denham Walk, Gerrards Cross, pleaded guilty to an offence of dumping waste illegally when he appeared at Wycombe Magistrates Court on 16 March 2022.

The court heard that on 5 February 2021, waste wood and plastic were found dumped off Mumfords Lane in Chalfont St Peter. A local resident reported the offence to the Council. In response, the Council’s Enforcement Team undertook an investigation. A local CCTV system managed to capture the illegal dumping offence. The CCTV recorded the suspect driving a Jaguar F-Pace, pulling into a small layby off Mumfords Lane. The suspect proceeded to exit the vehicle and fly-tip waste into the lay-by.

The vehicle was traced to a Mark Ashby at a Chalfont St Peter address. After numerous attempts by Buckinghamshire Council, Mr Ashby did not make himself available to discuss the matter. This would have been via an interview held at a local police station. Consequently, Buckinghamshire Council had no alternative but to summon Mr Ashby to court proceedings.

Magistrates fined Mark Ashby £360 and ordered him to pay clean-up and prosecution costs of £1,036. A victim surcharge of £36 was also levied – making a total to pay of £1,432.

Peter Strachan, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: “I would like to thank the member of the public who reported this incident to us. Our covert cameras are a fantastic tool for catching these criminals in the act but evidence from witnesses or simply reports of where incidents have taken place often help us to piece together what has happened and lead us to find the culprit and prosecute them.

“Buckinghamshire Council will not tolerate these offences and takes measures to gather evidence against offenders. This includes CCTV evidence which can be located anywhere in Buckinghamshire. The Council provide excellent waste facilities; there is absolutely no excuse for fly-tipping.”

To report fly-tipping visit FixMyStreet.