A brazen County Durham fly-tipper has been fined just £200 in court – despite targeting an industrial estate with a large quantity of rubbish in his tipper truck.

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 registered to and insured by Laverick, of Broad View Villas, Sherburn Village.

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The court heard that when contacted by the council, Laverick 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 not attending.

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.

However, he then 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.

Following the court judgement, 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.”

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