County Durham man fined after ditching rubbish in Fishburn

Steven Williamson, 33, pleaded guilty to a fly-tipping offence at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court following an investigation by Durham County Council.

The court heard that Durham County Council officers investigated after receiving a report of a large fly-tip in a layby off Harap Road, Fishburn, in October last year.

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When they reviewed CCTV footage, they spotted a silver Peugeot car pull up in the layby and a male driver get out.

The man removed a number of items from the car and dumped them in a hedgerow.

Officers traced the car to Williamson’s home in Coxhoe and when interviewed under caution, he admitted to disposing of the waste illegally.

Williamson was fined £316 and ordered to pay £300 costs as well as a £126 victim surcharge.

In mitigation, he told magistrates he didn’t dump all of the items from his car and took the rest to the tip the next day.

He also told them he is sorry for his actions and has no previous convictions for any similar offences.

The successful prosecution comes just days after the council confirmed fly-tipping in the county is at its lowest level ever, while the number of fines issued has increased.

Ian Hoult, neighbourhood protection manager at Durham County Council, said: “There really is no excuse for fly-tipping and we will always take action against anyone who dumps waste illegally.

“Cases like this one are a strong reminder that your waste is your responsibility. There are all sorts of ways of disposing of your waste responsibly, from booking a bulky waste collection to taking it to one of our household waste recycling centres.

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He added: “If you’re not sure about the options available to you, just visit our website or get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise.

“But we have to be very clear in saying what you absolutely should not do is just go out and dump it somewhere. There are no circumstances in which that’s acceptable and we will take action against anybody who does that.

“Fly-tipping is an issue we know our residents feel very strongly about and we always encourage people to report any incidents to us, as well as any information or intelligence that might help us track down those responsible.”