AN AMESBURY tree surgeon has been fined nearly £7k and will have his vehicle crushed after flytipping hazardous construction waste on a farm.

Daniel Waters of The Old Dairy, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court on September 14 and pleaded guilty to fly-tipping hazardous construction rubbish on farmland in Collingbourne Ducis.

He also failed to provide waste transfer notes to the council when requested to do and therefore failed in his duty of care in relation to his business waste.

The prosecution was brought by Wiltshire Council.

Waters was fined a total of £6,980.80 including costs, and the vehicle he used to fly-tip the waste, which has been seized by the council, was authorised for disposal by the magistrates, as a result of the criminal investigation conducted by the council’s Environmental Enforcement Officers.

The vehicle will have the hazardous materials removed, and any reusable parts will be salvaged before it is crushed and recycled in the coming weeks.

The court heard how the 33-year-old used his tipper truck to collect hazardous construction waste that contained asbestos from a property in Andover, and then fly-tipped it on private farmland in Collingbourne Ducis.

The vehicle used in the fly-tip was seized by Wiltshire Police at the request of the council.

Once seized, the vehicle was stored securely until the court hearing, where magistrates authorised its destruction. In addition to this, Waters failed to provide the council with any of his waste transfer notes for his business, DW Tree Services, which would have shown how he was lawfully disposing of his waste.

Cllr Dr Mark McClelland, Cabinet Member for Transport and Waste, said: “This is a fantastic result that sends out a strong message to fly-tippers that their criminal actions will not be tolerated in Wiltshire and the consequences will be severe.

“I’d like to pay tribute to our officers for their hard work in bringing this fly-tipper to justice, and I’d also like to thank the many witnesses who assisted us, and our partners at Wiltshire Police, who seized the vehicle on our behalf.

“We take environmental crime very seriously, and as well as the large fine, the man’s vehicle will now be crushed, which should serve as a warning to others. We will also make representations to the Environment Agency to request that Mr Waters’ waste carriers licence is revoked.”

To report fly-tipping, visit wiltshire.gov.uk/mywiltshire-online-reporting or call 0300 456 0100.

 

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