Chester-le-Street fly tipper fined £348 for dumping waste on Delaval

Colin Eastick, 50, of Delaval in Chester-le-Street, has been fined £348 in court after rubbish was found dumped at the back of his property.

Durham County Council's neighbourhood wardens discovered the rubbish while on patrol, where a mattress, chair and other items were found on Eastwick's street.

CCTV footage of the area showed a flat bed van driving up the street, where a man got out of the vehicle and removed the waste before driving away.

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The vehicle’s registration and matched it to the address of Eastick, and a letter was sent to him asking to contact the council regarding the fly tipping incident.

Enquiries with the Environment Agency also confirmed Eastick had a waste carriers’ licence at the time the waste was dumped.

No response to the letter was received, and Eastick was issued with a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for fly tipping.

As the land in the street is not covered by an environmental permit, it is an offence to deposit waste there, and if Eastick was collecting waste as part of a business he would need to pay for it to be disposed of at a transfer centre for commercial waste.

Peterlee Magistrates Court heard that the waste was removed from the street, but the FPN had not been paid.

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Eastick pleaded guilty to depositing waste without an environmental permit. He was ordered to pay a £120 fine, £48 victim surcharge, and £200 costs.

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “Even if it is in the street outside your own home, dumping waste is still an offence and has a negative impact on the environment as well as the surrounding neighbourhood.

“It is hugely important that people make sure they dispose of waste properly at the right facilities, whether it is commercial or household. If not, you risk facing a fine that could have been avoided and, as this case shows, it could even result in legal action.”