South Gloucestershire Council

Published: 20/09/2016

A man from Weston-super-Mare has been given a 14 week curfew order and ordered to pay a total of £1,600 in fines and costs after he admitted fly tipping waste in South Gloucestershire.

Craig Purnell, 25, of Upton Monkton Avenue, Weston-super-Mare, appeared before North Avon Magistrates’ Court on Friday 16 September. He pleaded guilty to fly tipping and not having a Waste Transfer Note or a Registered Waste Carriers Licence and was handed a 14 week curfew order, requiring home detention from 7pm to 7am, which will last until 22 December. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,440, compensation of £100, and a victim surcharge of £60.

The court heard that having left his field in good order one evening, a South Gloucestershire farmer returned the following morning to find that a pile of waste had been dumped there. Household waste from an unknown source, including wooden fencing panels and children’s garden play furniture, had been tipped in to the field off Lansdown Lane, Upton Cheyney.

A vehicle was caught on a neighbour’s CCTV as it drove up the country lane and then returned past empty. The vehicle’s details were checked and the registered keeper identified Purnell as the person in possession of the vehicle at the time of the fly tip.

South Gloucestershire Council’s Environment & Community Services Committee Chair Cllr Heather Goddard said: “Fly tipping is criminal activity and this case where the offender has been electronically tagged clearly demonstrates that all means of punishment will be considered. If you fly tip rubbish in South Gloucestershire, you can expect to be caught and prosecuted. The sentence he has received gives a strong message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”

You can carry out these simple steps to make sure your waste is disposed of legally:
• Ask for a copy of the company’s waste carrier registration certificate and ask where the waste is being taken. Legitimate firms will be happy to provide this information. Do not be tempted to use people offering cheap waste clearance on sites such as Facebook and Gumtree unless you have confirmed that they are registered with the Environment Agency.
• Check whether the waste carrier is registered by calling the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 or by checking on their website
• Ask for a registered trading address and contact telephone number for the trader and get a receipt.

Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort It centres.

Residents who see illegal fly tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the Street Care helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping