Two in court after their vehicles were used by fly-tippers

Two people left court with a £1,020 bill after their vehicles were used to fly-tip waste at bring to recycling banks.

In the first of two separate hearings, Jason Robinson, 39, of Vincent Road, Grimsby, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Protection Act.

His white Ford Transit van was captured on CCTV at the Waltham Road recycling banks on 29 March 2020.

In the footage, a man wearing a long black coat climbs out of the van and takes out seven black bin bags, a clear plastic box and some cardboard. He leaves all the rubbish on the ground near the bins and drives away.

Although Robinson wasn’t in the van at the time, he was later traced as the owner and interviewed under caution where he admitted it was his vehicle.

The offence happened on 29 March 2020 and Robinson was sent a fixed penalty notice for £400 on 28 October 2020.

He failed to pay the fine and as a result, appeared before Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 2 July 2021.

Robinson was fined £150, ordered to pay a contribution towards costs in the sum of £404.33 and a victim surcharge of £32, making a total of £586.33. He was ordered to pay this at a rate of £50 per month.

The driver of the van at the time of the offence has yet to be identified.

Jessica Hann, 29, of Tunnard Street, Grimsby, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Environmental Protection Act after her car was caught on CCTV at two fly-tipping incidents in Grimsby.

Hann’s black Mazda was videoed arriving at Garibaldi Street car park on 18 January 2020.

Two men, a driver and passenger, dumped rubbish including a large cardboard box, a black bin bag and a carrier bag next to the car park recycling bins.

They returned to the car park about 20 minutes later and dumped more rubbish before driving away.

Hann was not in the car at the time but was traced as the registered owner of the vehicle.

She was invited to attend a voluntary interview to mitigate her circumstances but failed to attend.

Environmental enforcement officers sent Hann a fixed penalty notice for £400 on 18 August 2020. An officer visited her on 8 December 2020 and she made it clear she would not pay and would not attend court.

Hann did not attend court when her case was originally listed and a warrant was issued for her arrest. She appeared in custody at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court on 12 July 2021 and was fined £100 for each offence, ordered to pay a £32 victim surcharge and £202 costs, making a total of £434. She was ordered to pay at the rate of £10 per week.

The car’s driver who fly-tipped some of the waste has been identified and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Garibaldi Street bring to recycling bank was removed in January 2020 due to excessive fly-tipping.

Report fly-tipping at www.nelincs.gov.uk/flytipping.

Cllr Ron Shepherd, portfolio holder for safer and stronger communities at North East Lincolnshire Council, said:

“We will not tolerate fly-tipping in our borough. All incidents are investigated and where there is enough evidence, we will take legal action.

“It costs taxpayers in North East Lincolnshire tens of thousands of pounds each year to clear up illegally dumped waste.

“We all have a Duty of Care to make sure our waste is disposed of legally. Although the two defendants were not present when rubbish was dumped at the two recycling banks, their vehicles were.

“Posters or signs at all our recycling banks give clear warnings about CCTV and the implications of leaving waste next to the bins.

“In both cases, the rubbish could have been taken to the tip for free, there was no need to dump it.

“They both had the opportunity to pay a fixed penalty notice for the offences, but both failed to do so and ended up in court.”

Caught on Camera

Earlier this year the Council started publishing CCTV images of people it would like to speak to in connection with fly-tipping offences in the area. Visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/caught-on-camera to find out more.

Enforcement action

People who don’t check the credentials of waste carriers, can also be prosecuted if their waste is found fly-tipped. They could land themselves with a fine of £300 and possibly more if they are a business.

So far in 2021, enforcement officers have issued 17 fixed penalty notices for fly-tipping and other waste-related offences, including five for failing to give waste to an authorised carrier. More cases are due to be heard in court.