By Eric King-
A man has been fined more than £1,200 after his friend dumped his building waste.Christopher Dockery, 37, of Dalbys Crescent in Tottenham received the big fine after paying his friend £300 to remove the waste which included an old bathroom suite and kitchen cabinets from a property he was renovating in Leyton.
The waste was dumped by Elmbridge Playing Fields and later traced back to Mr Dockery after evidence in the rubbish led them to the address in Leyton. Mr Dockery was forced to pick up the pieces after being ordered to pay a £400 fine and costs of £478.50 after pleading guilty to fly-tipping at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court on June 7 in addition to a victim surcharge of £40 and clean-up costs of £300 .
It serves as a deterrence to others who take a careless attitude towards waste dumping, as Redbridge Council adopts a tough stance on rubbish dumping.
Cllr Jas Athwal, council leader, said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to people who dump rubbish. Even if you contract rubbish removal out to a third party it is your responsibility to ensure they have the appropriate waste carrier credentials, otherwise you could be the one in court.
“Fly-tipping is not only illegal but an ugly scourge on society. We won’t hesitate to prosecute, and when convicted we will name and shame to help stamp out this criminal behaviour.”
In 2016, Bristol landlord Leighton Dowding was fined £7,000 by Bristol Magistrates Court after leaving his terraced house in Downend, completely empty and garden unattended for at least seven years until it became a dumping spot for rubbish . He had ignored South Gloucestershire Council issued him with orders to address the problem, but he failed to do anything, leaving his back garden got so overgrown it was a nightmare for the . His failure to comply with a Remedial Order under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act cost him thousands.