Suspended prison sentence for fly-tipper
News release issued:
A 66-year-old man from Kidderminster has been given two four-month concurrent prison sentences after being found guilty of two counts of flytipping.
At a trial at Worcester Crown Court in March, Peter Harris of The Serpentine, Kidderminster was found guilty of knowingly causing controlled waste to be deposited on land contrary to the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The case was adjourned for sentencing.
On Friday 24 June Harris was given four months imprisonment for each offence. The judge suspended the sentence for 12 months. Harris was ordered during the period of the suspension to wear an electronic tag, was given a curfew from 7pm until 7am and was also ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
At the trial in March the court heard that in early 2019 Harris had dumped waste on Sandy Lane Blakedown and on the Kingsway in Stourport-on-Severn. The waste included plumbing materials and builders’ sacks.
An investigation by the council’s Environmental Protection officer tracked down the plumbing company where the waste had come from. The company was able to identify Harris as the person they had employed to remove the waste.
The court heard that at the time of the incident Harris was a Wyre Forest District Council employee. After his flytipping had been reported, he had thanked the officer who had to clean it up and gloated about his actions to a colleague.
Councillor John Thomas, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet Member for Operational Services said:
“I hope this case sends out the clear message that environmental crime is a crime against everyone, and it will not be tolerated.
“Where we have the evidence, we will – and do – prosecute, whoever the perpetrator is. Flytipping is a drain on our resources, which could be better used in other ways to keep the district clean and green. I would urge anyone with any information on any incident to contact us.”
Harris was also ordered to pay clean-up costs of £433 and a statutory surcharge.