Peterlee fly-tipper caught after leaving prescription in dumped rubbish bags

Bernard Hollande, 53, from Peterlee, drove to a fly-tipping hotspot on a snowy day last winter and dumped bin bags and a carpet.

He was caught when a Durham County Council neighbourhood warden found a prescription bearing his name and address among the rubbish, with CCTV at the spot also capturing the incident on camera.

Hollande has now been convicted and ordered to pay over £800.

Peterlee magistrates heard how the warden visited Andrews Lane at Little Thorpe, Easington, an area regularly blighted by fly-tipping, on December 13.

The official found a number of black sacks had been dumped along with a carpet and a yellow plastic item.

On checking the bags, he discovered a prescription bearing Hollande’s name and address, at Berkshire Road.

CCTV footage from a camera at the scene was also checked and showed a white Kia Magenta pulling up in snowy conditions on December 12.

Hollande is then seen getting out of the car, removing the waste from the boot and dumping it, before driving off.

The registered keeper of the vehicle was contacted and confirmed that Hollande was driving the car at the time of the incident.

In interview, he admitted fly-tipping.

At court, Hollande pleaded guilty to depositing controlled waste on land without an environmental permit.

The defendant told magistrates he had suffered from poor mental health in recent years and that his bin had been stolen.

Hollande said he had panicked after dumping the waste and intended to return to pick it up but forgot.

The defendant said he was “deeply sorry” for any offence he had caused.

He was fined £200 and ordered to pay £602.41 costs and a victim surcharge of £20.

The prosecution is the latest success for Operation Stop It! a campaign run by the council with Durham Police, Crimestoppers and Environment Agency to crack down on the illegal

dumping of waste.

The cost of fly-tipping to the council was £432,562 during the financial year 2014/15. The number of incidents investigated during this period was 6,824.

Ian Hoult, the council’s neighbourhood protection manager, said: “Members of the public are regularly asking us to take positive action to tackle fly-tipping and it is only right that we

prosecute the likes of Mr Hollande.

“Illegal dumping of waste has an adverse impact on the local environment, with potential for disease transmission, soil contamination and damage to wildlife habitats.

“Dealing with fly-tipping also has a significant impact on our budget during a very difficult time of financial reductions.

“Mr Hollande acted highly irresponsibly and we hope the conviction and financial penalty he picked up will serve as a warning to anyone with waste to dispose of.”