Three men have been successfully prosecuted by Vale of White Horse District Council after fly-tips were found in Longworth and Marcham, and building waste was illegally left at a household waste recycling centre earlier this year.
The men were ordered to pay a total of nearly £5,000 after their cases were heard at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Monday 29 July.
The first case involved brothers, Krisztian and Tamus Matus. Krisztian, aged 38, of The Square, Longworth and Tamus, aged 34, from Swallow Mews, Didcot, both pleaded guilty to three charges:
- the unlawful deposit of waste at Drayton Household Recycling Centre
- transporting waste with a view to profit without being registered carriers of waste
- failing in their duty of care in relation to a deposit of waste (fly-tip) found on land between Abingdon and Marcham.
On 4 March, a builders’ one tonne sack containing tiles, wood and paint tubs was found dumped at the side of the A415 Marcham Road between Marcham and Abingdon.
Officers from the Vale of White Horse District Council investigated further and discovered a link to an address in Abingdon and after interviewing the occupier they discovered she had paid her gardener Krisztian Matus to remove building waste from her house after he told her he had the necessary waste licence.
Both men were also involved in depositing building waste at Drayton Household Waste recycling centre despite several notices and signs stating ‘no commercial waste accepted’.
In sentencing, the magistrates stated that these were serious offences attracting significant fines, although account had been taken of their early guilty pleas, their financial situation and that both were of previous good character.
Krisztian Matus was ordered to pay the following:
- £500 fine for the unlawful deposit of waste at Drayton Recycling Centre
- £100 fine for transporting waste without being a registered carrier of waste
- £800 fine for breach of his duty of care
- £70 compensation to the person whose waste they collected
- £538.53 towards prosecution costs
- £80 victim surcharge
Total £2,088.53
Tamus Matus was ordered to pay the following:
- £400 fine for the unlawful deposit of waste at Drayton Recycling Centre
- £700 fine for breach of his duty of care
- £70 compensation to the person whose waste they collected
- £538.53 towards prosecution costs
- £70 victim surcharge
Total £1,778.53.
The second case involved Nathan Draper, aged 21,
from Hatford, Faringdon.
On 15 April 2019, volunteer litter pickers discovered several black bags containing tiles, a toilet, long strips of plastic and cardboard packaging fly-tipped in Draycott Road, Longworth.
Evidence at the scene led the investigating officers to Mr Draper, whom they interviewed, and he admitted fly-tipping waste that he had been paid to remove and not being a registered waste carrier.
At court on Monday he pleaded guilty to two charges:
- Fly-tipping
- Transporting waste without being a registered waste carrier
In sentencing, magistrates took into account his early guilty plea and the fact that he was of previous good character.
Nathan Draper was ordered to pay the following:
· £448 fine for the deposit of waste
· £100 fine for transporting waste without being a registered carrier of waste
· £400 towards prosecution costs
· £44 victim surcharge
· Total £992
Cllr Jenny Hannaby, Vale of White Horse District Council cabinet member for the environment, said: “We take crimes of this nature extremely seriously. While we will always prosecute fly-tippers, these cases show that we will also prosecute those who violate other laws designed to protect our environment.”
This week South Oxfordshire District Council also made a successfully prosecution after a fly-tip – read more here.
Photographs attached are of both cases of dumped waste.
Communications
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils
01235 422400