Man advertised rubbish collections on Facebook - then dumped it at beauty spots

Rubbish was dumped in separate locations on the outskirts of Marlborough Credit: LDRS

A man from Wiltshire has been banned from driving and will have his vehicle crushed after fly-tipping at beauty spots in the county.

Nicholas Farmer, of Camelot Close in Andover, appeared at Salisbury Magistrates Court on Thursday 6 October and pleaded guilty to multiple environmental offences.

Wiltshire Council caught Farmer after he advertised a rubbish collection service on a Facebook community group, despite having no waste carrier license.

The council presented this evidence to the court and it was found that Nicholas Farmer had dumped rubbish at areas of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) across Wiltshire.

Magistrates imposed an 80-hour community order and a three-month disqualification from driving. He was also ordered to pay £750 in costs to Wiltshire Council.

The offences included two counts of fly-tipping waste; two counts of failing in his duty of care when managing controlled waste; failing to produce waste transfer notes for his waste collection business; and transporting controlled waste without a waste carrier licence.

In addition, the court issued a vehicle forfeiture order and will destroy and recycle the Ford Transit van used to fly-tip.

A householder in Marlborough paid £60 for Farmer to collect the waste, which was then dumped in separate locations in an AONB on the outskirts of Marlborough, at Wootton Rivers Road and Ram Alley Lane.

The homeowner whose waste was found fly-tipped was issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice (reduced to £200 if paid within 10 days) for giving their waste to Farmer and not checking that he had the appropriate licence to carry and dispose of the waste appropriately or other important checks.

Cabinet member for transport and waste Councillor Dr Mark McClelland said: “This prosecution highlights the growing problem of rogue unlicensed waste collectors advertising on local Facebook community groups and then fly-tipping the waste to avoid lawful disposal charges.”

The council advises people against using rubbish clearance services without checking they are fully licensed to take waste away, noting down their valid upper-tier waste carrier licence number and details of any vehicle used, such as the make, model and registration number.

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