Man prosecuted for fly-tipping in Devon woods

Teignbridge District Council has successfully prosecuted a man after a large amount of waste was dumped in woodland.

South Devon Magistrates, sitting in Torquay, ordered Oliver McShane to pay a total of £1,365.98 for flytipping waste including carpet, a toilet, guttering, a bath, DIY waste and rubble, at Grammercombe Woods, Ashcombe in June 2015.

The law requires Teignbridge to remove flytipping from all public land but excludes private land or land under control of other authorities. In this particular case the land is owned privately which means the cost falls to the relevant landowner.

Teignbridge District Council’s Environmental Health team worked hard to help the landowner and investigate the incidents. Teignbridge’s legal team brought the case to court and when Mr McShane failed to attend the first hearing an arrest warrant was issued.

He was brought from Basingstoke to Torquay for the court hearing on Wednesday August 31 and pleaded guilty.

Magistrates fined him £640, reduced from £960 for an early guilty plea and a victim surcharge of £64. Teignbridge District Council was awarded costs of £661.98.

Waste crime is a serious offence with tough penalties. On sentencing the Chairwoman of the Bench told him that they considered fly tipping as a very serious offence that was a huge expense and cost to the local authority and the public, and has a serious environmental impact. The court was told that, in the Magistrates view, it was very serious.

Ralph Rayner, the owner of the Ashcombe Estate, was pleased with the outcome. He said:

“It has unfortunately taken over a year to track down and bring this individual to justice, but we hope that it sends out a clear message that councils, land owners and all those who enjoy the countryside will not tolerate fly-tipping.

"The Ashcombe Estate works closely with Teignbridge's Community Environment Wardens to trace and find those responsible and we would like to see more prosecutions of this kind. It is also very important that Teignbridge residents fully understand that if you pay someone else to take your rubbish away it is you, the owner, who is held liable if it is fly-tipped.

"We continue to need more people to help, with common sense and vigilance in order to prevent this blight ruining our beautiful part of Devon.”

Cllr Sylvia Russell, Teignbridge District Council’s Executive member for Health and Wellbeing which includes Environmental Health, said:

“This is a really welcome result for Teignbridge and shows that we take fly-tipping very seriously. It is illegal, unsightly, environmentally harmful and costly.

“This case is the result of our environment teams working closely with the landowner and our legal team to produce this successful result which helps recuperate costs on behalf of the taxpayer.

“We recognise that fly-tipping is a serious and important matter to our residents and we will continue to prosecute offenders when we have reliable evidence. We will always try and find out who was responsible so we can prosecute.”

Cllr Alan Connett, Teignbridge District Council’s ward member for Kenton-with-Starcross which includes Ashcombe, said:

“I am delighted that at long last we have a successful prosecution for fly tipping. It's taken a great deal of work to achieve this but the message is now loud and clear - fly tip in Teignbridge and you will be prosecuted. Don't do it.”

People can report it online at any time of the day by visiting www.teignbridge.gov.uk/reportit. Teignbridge operates a freephone number for reporting environmental crime and welcome calls on 0800 328 6402.