Fly-tipper ordered to pay £4,000 (From Salisbury Journal)

Fly-tipper ordered to pay £4,000

2:45pm Tuesday 2nd October 2012 in News By Journal Reporter

THE owner of a paving firm has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 in fines and court costs after being found guilty of fly-tipping in Ludgershall.

Henry Ayres, 47, of Sarson Lane, Weyhill, near Andover was found guilty of illegal dumping following a three-day trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The court heard Ayres, owner of Ansley Paving in Andover, drove a lorry fully laden with broken paving slabs, to an area known to be a local fly-tipping hot spot at the former Defence Medical Establishment depot at the edge of Ludgershall on April 20 last year. A witness saw him dumping the slabs and driving away.

Ayres pleaded not guilty to the offence, claiming he had sold the lorry prior to the incident and was not using that type of vehicle at the time of the offence. But Wiltshire Council officers produced evidence disputing both of these claims during the course of the trial, and he was found guilty.

Judge John Dixon said: “The council tax payers of Wiltshire and Hampshire should be grateful to the council for their hard work and skill in bringing Mr Ayres to justice.”

Ayres was fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £1,500 costs, plus a £15 victim surcharge.

Cabinet member for enforcement, Dick Tonge, said: “This is a victory for every resident who appreciates the beauty and value of a county uncluttered by the criminal depositing of waste by people with no regard for others.”