A County Durham man has been ordered to pay more than £650 after pleading guilty to two fly-tipping related offences.
Durham County Council took legal action against Steven Laverick after controlled waste was dumped on land at Sunflag Park, Belmont Industrial Estate, in Durham.
The fly-tip took place in October last year and was carried out by two men, from a tipper
van.
Checks identified that the vehicle was both registered to and insured by Laverick, of Broad
View Villas, Sherburn Village.
When contacted by the council, the defendant agreed to attend a formal interview in
February of this year. However, he cancelled on the day and failed to attend a further
interview without providing an explanation for his non-attendance.
His failure to co-operate with the investigation meant that the council was unable to identify
those involved.
At Peterlee Magistrates Court, 43-year-old Laverick pleaded guilty to depositing the
controlled waste and failing to assist with enquiries.
In mitigation, he claimed he was working at a nearby factory and was told by people
working there that he could deposit the waste. He agreed he did not have the authority to
leave it in the site’s skip, which wasn’t available to members of the public.
Magistrates fined him £200 and ordered him to pay costs of £418 and a £34 victim
surcharge, totalling £652.
Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “With many
ways to dispose of rubbish correctly across the county, there is no excuse for the illegal
dumping of waste.
“People can take items to one of our household waste recycling centres, book a bulky
waste collection, or even donate items which are in good condition to one of our re-use
schemes.
“We hope this prosecution serves as a warning that we take fly-tipping very seriously and
will always take action against those responsible.”
For more information on, and to report fly-tipping ,visit www.durham.gov.uk/flytipping
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