Council fines pair of Thetford fly-tippers

Breckland Council has fined two people from Thetford for fly-tipping after help from CCTV and residents.

A Thetford man was fined £300 plus clearance costs after he illegally moved waste and fly-tipped it in Pike Lane.

After reports from the public, and with the help of CCTV images, the council’s enforcement officers investigated and cleared the fly-tip which was causing a danger to drivers in the area.

When interviewed, the culprit admitted moving furniture from a private car park onto the public road.

Although the resident found the fly-tip on their land, it was the their responsibility to report it, which would have allowed the council to consider further investigation, but ultimately in this case by moving the waste onto the public highway he had conducted a fly-tip himself, rather than dealing with the waste incident correctly.

In a separate incident, a second man from Thetford was issued with a £300 fine for also dumping waste in the same area after the fly-tip was reported to the council by members of the public.

In both separate cases, if payment is not made within 10 days these fines will increase to £400.

Cllr Alison Webb, executive member for housing, health and environment at Breckland Council, said: "I am truly disappointed that the residents of Pike Lane have had to endure these incidents of selfish behaviour from fellow Thetford residents who feel it is OK to fly-tip within our community.

"Breckland Council has a zero tolerance approach towards fly-tipping and we will not hesitate to take action to make sure people pay for their crimes and hopefully deter people who may consider doing this in the future. When inspecting the fly tip, our staff found that all of the items dumped could have been taken to the local recycling centre for free and we sincerely hope these fines will help change any future behaviour when dealing with household waste."

Breckland Council is advising residents who discover a fly tip to inform the council as quickly as possible and to check that people offering to take waste away are legitimate and have a waste carrier's licence.

This will avoid residents hiring a rogue trader who may not dispose of the material responsibly and leave them equally responsible for the fly-tip.

Householders are being encouraged to be particularly wary of businesses that only operate through social media or those who come to their door offering to take away rubbish cheaply.

Residents can report suspected fly tipping online at www.breckland.gov.uk/flytip or contact the council direct.