Man fined almost £3k for fly-tipping carload of rubbish in South Gloucestershire
A Patchway man has been ordered to pay £2,950 in fines and costs after fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire.
Abishek Ravindran-Vaidyaingham, 36, of Wood Street, Patchway was prosecuted by South Gloucestershire Council’s environmental enforcement team after baby clothes, garden items, and household waste was discovered on Station Road on February 2 last year.
Officers attended the site after it was reported to the local authority.
They took photographs and seized evidence in the form of documentation with the defendant’s address on, which was found among the waste.
Mr Ravindran-Vaidyaingham admitted responsibility for the fly-tip when interviewed under caution.
He proceeded to Station Road the same evening after work to clear the waste himself.
He told officers he was moving and had completely filled his car with household waste.
He said he went to the local recycling centre in Little Stoke but it was closed when he got there, and as he required his car for work the following day, so he emptied the waste into a nearby entranceway.
He added he had intended to return and dispose of the waste properly but was unable to do so on the following Monday or Tuesday, which is when he was contacted by the council.
Mr Ravindran-Vaidyaingham appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on February 22, where he pleaded guilty to the illegal disposal of waste and was fined £1,996, along with £773 in costs and a victim surcharge of £181.
Cabinet Member for Communities and Local Place Cllr Rachael Hunt said: “Each one of us has a responsibility to correctly dispose of our household waste and there really is no excuse for this type of behaviour.
"This gentleman should have made sure that he was able to legally dispose of his waste before loading his vehicle.
"Fly-tipping blights our countryside and has a negative impact on our communities and local environment.
“Our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire means that anyone who fly-tips here is up to five times more likely to be prosecuted than anywhere else in the country."
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 using the council's web form here or by emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or by contacting the StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000.
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