Two men fined £5,000 for blighting East Yorkshire countryside in 'largest' fly-tipping court case

Two men who blighted East Yorkshire's countryside by dumping waste including mattresses, chairs and children's toys in one of the largest fly-tipping court cases have been fined more than £5,000.

Christopher Herberts, of Gatwick Garth, Hull and Steven Atkinson, of Bainton Grove, Hull, have been ordered to pay a total of £5,370 for their actions by East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Rubbish including fridges, furniture and building materials were found dumped on the roadside at five locations - in Newbald, South Cave, Hotham, Welton and Brantingham - over the space of eight months in 2017 and 2018.

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Herberts pleaded guilty to three charges of illegally dumping waste in Hotham, Brantingham and Welton during January 2018 when he appeared before Hull Magistrates’ Court earlier this month

Fly-tipping in Newbald.Fly-tipping in Newbald.
Fly-tipping in Newbald.

He was fined £480 and was ordered to pay costs of £2,448.24 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

At an earlier hearing, Atkinson pleaded guilty to five charges of failing to ensure waste under his control was transferred to an authorised waste carrier and disposed of legally, relating to fly-tipping incidents at Newbald, Hotham, Brantingham, Welton and South Cave.

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The case was dealt with at Beverley Magistrates’ Court and Atkinson was fined £600 and was ordered to pay costs of £1,781.82 and a victim surcharge of £30.

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Fly-tipping in Brantingham.Fly-tipping in Brantingham.
Fly-tipping in Brantingham.

A series of five fly-tipping incidents were investigated by streetscene enforcement officers from East Riding of Yorkshire Council between May 2017 and January 2018.

Waste including mattresses, carpets, chairs, wheels, wood and children’s toys was found dumped in Beverley Road, Newbald, on May 5, 2017.

Evidence found at the scene was traced back to a resident in Hull. The resident said they paid Atkinson £60 to remove waste from their property following a kitchen refurbishment.

Meanwhile fridges, a bath and building supplies were found at the side of Swinescaife Road in South Cave on August 16, 2017.

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Fly-tipping at Hotham.Fly-tipping at Hotham.
Fly-tipping at Hotham.

Evidence found at the scene related to a property company in Hull. The owner of the firm said a man - later identified as Atkinson - was paid £50 to remove waste from a bathroom refurbishment job.

Rubbish was found dumped in Pitbalk Hill, Hotham, near North Cave, on 11 January 2018, including electric light fittings, wood, plasterboard and plastic wrapping.

Information and CCTV footage provided by residents identified a white Ford Transit tipper-style van at the scene which was found to be used by Herberts and Atkinson.

Fly-tipping at WeltonFly-tipping at Welton
Fly-tipping at Welton

Three piles of rubbish including building waste, plasterboard, cement bags and metal light fittings were also discovered in Stonepit Road, Welton, on January 22 2018.

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Eight days later, waste including doors, guttering, glass, window frames and trade waste was found fly-tipped in Spout Hill, Brantingham.

Evidence was found at the scene of both fly-tips relating to two addresses in Wigan and Doncaster.

When interviewed, a man from Wigan told the streetscene officer he had been overseeing building work at a property in Doncaster and he had contacted a man known as Chubbs – later identified as Atkinson – to organise some waste removal.

To pay for the work Atkinson told the man to pay £2,590 and £750 into two bank accounts, one of which belonged to Herberts.

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When interviewed by a streetscene officer, Herberts said he had worked as a driver for Atkinson – who was known as Chubbs or Chubby – for around six months up until January 2018.

South Cave fly-tippingSouth Cave fly-tipping
South Cave fly-tipping

He said the work involved collecting and selling scrap metal, carrying out odd jobs including gardening, and also carrying waste.

Neither Atkinson nor Herberts held valid waste carriers licences which are needed to operate legally.

Herberts confirmed he and another man were paid £50 to remove waste from an address in Hull, and that he, Atkinson and a third man removed waste from a house in Doncaster.

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Atkinson failed to respond to all approaches from the council.

Paul Tripp, head of streetscene services at East Riding Council, said: “This was one of the council’s largest ever fly-tipping prosecutions, involving a large amount of waste dumped at five locations in the East Riding.

“It involved a long investigation by our streetscene enforcement officers and the help of residents and witnesses to bring these two bogus operators to court.

“We will continue to investigate and take action against fly-tippers, but we do need the public’s help to prevent it happening in the first place.

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“We need residents and businesses to make some simple checks if they hire someone to remove waste to make sure they are using legal and licensed waste carriers.”

Anyone caught fly-tipping could be ordered to pay a £400 fixed penalty notice or the case can be taken to court, where they face an unlimited fine or even a prison sentence.