Hartlepool driver's four-figure court bill for fly tipping offences

John Ponting, 42, of Ashgrove Avenue, Hartlepool, has pleaded guilty to two environmental charges following an incident in Sheraton on November 19, 2020.

A nearby resident pointed out the vehicle responsible to neighbourhood wardens before the vehicle made off at speed when they attempted to follow it.

Security camera footage showed the white Ford Transit tipper van, which Ponting was later identified as being the driver of, travelling towards the location of the fly tip while fully laden and then returning empty.

Ponting failed to respond to a request to attend an interview to help assist officers in January 2021 and so the case proceeded to court.

Peterlee Magistrates’ Court heard Ponting accepted that, although he did not benefit from the offence, his actions as the driver of the vehicle were wrong.

He also stated that he had misplaced loyalty towards the people who had removed the items from the truck.

Considering Ponting’s early guilty plea and his personal circumstances, the court ordered him to pay a fine, costs and victim surcharge totalling £1,189.

The hearing was one of three separate Durham County Council prosecutions in which Ponting and two other offenders were ordered to pay a total of £4,500.

Speaking after the three cases, Ian Hoult, Durham County Council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “Fly tipping incidents across County Durham have cost the council approximately £800,000 to clear in the past 12 months.

"This significantly impacts on our budgets and is both damaging to wildlife as well as adversely impacting the local environment.

"Those who commit such offences are undermining legitimate business that are set up to carry out waste removal and disposal functions.

“It is particularly disappointing that, in two of these cases, residents were misled into believing that they were employing the services of legitimate waste carriers who would dispose of their waste in an appropriate way.”

To find out more about how to dispose of waste, visit www.durham.gov.uk/recycling.

To report a fly tipping incident, visit www.durham.gov.uk/flytipping.

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