A Gwent man has been handed 120 hours of community service and ordered to pay a total of £354 in fines and costs after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted him for waste offences following the discovery of fly-tipped furniture.
John Hegarty, 34, of Caroline Road, Pontypool, Gwent, appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 6 January. He pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and was handed 120 hours community service, ordered to pay £240 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge, totalling £354.
The court heard that on the morning of Thursday 9 May 2024, a resident was at home in Olveston, waiting for a booked waste collector to attend and remove some household waste which was stacked on her driveway. Whilst waiting, she answered the door to a cold caller who offered to take the waste away for a lower fee. The resident observed that the man had a distinctive tattoo on his arm with a name and heart next to it. She asked to see a waste carrier’s licence and was shown an image on the man’s phone but did not read it in detail. He loaded the items onto his truck and was paid £140 in cash, before handing the resident a leaflet for ‘BP Tree & Garden’ as he left.
The same morning, a neighbour was working in his garden when he observed a man loading household goods and sofas on to a dark coloured flatbed Ford Transit truck. Later that day, he was driving along Aust Road when he saw the same vehicle parked at the side of the road with one of the sofas now off the vehicle and located half on the road and half on the grass verge. The man observed earlier was with the vehicle and appeared to be checking the load. About 30 minutes later the neighbour again drove past the location and saw that other items which had previously been on the back of the truck were now dumped at the roadside with the vehicle nowhere to be seen.
A further witness was driving along Aust Road on 9 May when she observed a Ford Transit style flatbed truck parked at the side of the road with a man handling a metal framed object. The man then got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle and continued along Aust Road, driving behind her vehicle. She later made a return journey along Aust Road and saw some metal framed furniture had been dumped at the same location she had previously seen the man and truck. Both witnesses reported the matter to South Gloucestershire Council as fly-tipping.
Following the reports, council officers visited Aust Road and photographed the fly-tipped furniture before it was cleared. Enquiries into the vehicle’s registration number showed that on the day of the offence it was insured to John Hegarty who was also the only named driver.
On Tuesday 3 September Hegarty was interviewed under caution at the council’s offices in Yate. He denied being the offender and stated that on the day of the offence the vehicle was being used by his cousin and that he would be able to provide his contact details. Hegarty was asked if he had any tattoos on his arms and he confirmed that he did. He was asked specifically if one contained a name and he replied “no”. Hegarty agreed to show his tattoos and pulled his long sleeve top forwards over his head to reveal his upper arms to show tattoos of a horse and boxing gloves. He then replaced his top and was asked if he had any tattoos on his forearms. Hegarty stated he didn’t but rolled up his sleeves when requested to reveal a tattoo on his right forearm that had a name on a scroll between two red roses. Hegarty was then shown the BP Tree & Garden flyer, which he denied knowledge of. The contact number and email address on this flyer were proven to be invalid. He then produced a flyer for his business ‘JT Tree & Garden’, which was identical in design and wording apart from company name, contact number and email address.
Hegarty was sent a ‘Requirement to Furnish’ notice on 6 September requiring him to produce a valid Waste Carrier’s Licence and waste transfer notes when re-attending for further interview on 4 October. The supporting letter sent with this notice also requested that Hegarty supply full contact details for his cousin, the alleged user of the van on the date of the offence.
Hegarty was interviewed under caution at the Council’s offices in Yate on 4 October in the presence of a solicitor. He declined to comment on any questions put to him and did not provide the requested Waste Carrier’s Licence, nor the requested Waste Transfer Notes. At the conclusion of the interview Hegarty was advised that he was being reported for summons.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “South Gloucestershire Council takes fly-tipping and illegal waste disposal very seriously as it can have a serious impact on the environment and communities. When evidence is found we pursue offenders through the courts and this is the second time the council has prosecuted this man for fly-tipping offences in our area.
“There’s no excuse for fly-tipping, there are a range of options available for people to legally dispose of their waste – including the council’s large household waste collection service. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that their waste is disposed of in a responsible and lawful manner, not just discarded for someone else to clear away. Residents and businesses are advised to only give their rubbish to an Environment Agency registered waste carrier and to check for valid paperwork otherwise you may be found liable if it’s disposed of illegally.”
Household waste can be taken to the council’s Sort It recycling centres where it can be disposed of at no cost www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres
Residents who see illegal fly-tipping are encouraged to report it by contacting the council’s StreetCare helpdesk on 01454 868000, emailing streetcare@southglos.gov.uk or visiting www.southglos.gov.uk/flytipping
