A man from Lyde Green has been ordered to pay a total of £368 in fines and costs after South Gloucestershire Council prosecuted him following the discovery of a fly-tip on a green space.
David Shelton, 25, of Burdock Road in Lyde Green, appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Monday 8 July. He pleaded guilty to fly-tipping and was handed a £120 fine, ordered to pay £200 in costs and £48 victim surcharge, making a total of £368.
The court heard that on 31 January 2024 a fly-tip was discovered on a green space between Honeysuckle Road and Trefoil Way in Lyde Green, which consisted of 10 refuse sacks full of household waste. The waste was examined and was found to contain correspondence addressed to Shelton’s home.
On 12 February Shelton attended the council’s Yate offices for voluntary interview. During the interview he was shown images of the waste dumped at Honeysuckle Way and admitted that he was responsible for fly-tipping the waste.
Shelton stated the waste had built up over time at the address which he shares with his partner and her family. He had been storing the additional waste in the home’s green waste bin and took it upon himself one night after dark to wheel the bin to the nearby green space and tip the sacks of waste out.
Shelton fully accepted responsibility for the offence of fly-tipping, stating that he acted out of frustration in the heat of the moment. The interview was concluded and he was reported for summons for the offence.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “Residents can easily get rid of this type of waste for free at one of South Gloucestershire’s Sort It recycling centres. There is no excuse for fly-tipping and harming the environment. We all have a responsibility to ensure that our waste is disposed of in a responsible and lawful manner.
“South Gloucestershire Council always pursues fly-tip related prosecutions through the courts and our award-winning environmental enforcement team has a 100 per cent record of securing successful prosecutions for this type of offence.”
Unwanted goods and household or garden waste can all be disposed of at no cost via the council’s Sort It recycling centres www.southglos.gov.uk/sortitcentres
This prosecution is directly linked to the council’s Duty of Care Campaign and resulted from the ‘golden hour’ approach to investigations as part of that initiative. At the time of the offence fly-tipping related to household waste/black bags was a priority for the campaign.
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
