News-CCTV catches man flytipping three times in 89 minutes

And a woman who was linked to two separate incidents of waste being dumped at a residential property has been ordered to pay more than £600 in another case brought by Durham County Council.

In the first case, Peterlee Magistrates heard a neighbourhood warden from the council found a flytip of soil in a rural setting at Bank Foot in July this year.

CCTV footage was checked and showed a vehicle entering the site on three occasions between 11.10am and 12.39pm the same day.

The driver who is alone in the vehicle can be seen getting out, opening the rear tailgate and depositing the first of three loads of soil. The same vehicle can then be seen returning to the site an hour later with the same man depositing a second load of soil. At 12.39pm, the vehicle enters the site for the third time and the same man deposits the third and final load of soil.

The vehicle was later located at an address in Crook where defendant Jonathon Mackenzie, 37, of Deanwood Close, Willington, was working. The defendant's vehicle was seized and he was without it until after the court hearing.

Mackenzie was invited for interview and, when spoken to, confirmed he had dumped the waste and intended to fence the area off and later remove the waste, but never did.

In court, Mackenzie pleaded guilty to three charges of depositing controlled waste without a licence.

He told magistrates that he intended to return to the site to remove the waste.

The court ordered Mackenzie pay a fine of £503, a £233 victim surcharge and £1,804 in costs - a total of £2,620.

In the second case, Newton Aycliffe magistrates heard that a neighbourhood warden discovered waste in the back yard of a residential property at Tees Street in Horden, in December last year. The waste included a mattress and cushions as well as bin bags. Correspondence was found within the waste addressed to the defendant Kimberley Jane Ellis, 37, of South Terrace, Horden.

Ellis was written to and did not respond, so was sent a legal notice requiring her to attend an interview.

The court heard that in the interim, a further deposit of waste was found at the same address in Tees Street and, again, evidence was found linking it to the defendant.

Ellis failed to attend the interview or to contact the council but was given a further opportunity to come in and speak to wardens. Again, she failed to attend or to make contact.

In court, Ellis pleaded guilty to two charges, of failing to ensure her waste was transferred by an authorised person; and failing to attend an interview.

In mitigation, magistrates were told she was moving house and had paid someone £100 to move her waste but didn't check whether they had a licence and wasn't aware if her rubbish had been properly disposed of. The court heard Ellis didn't attend an interview as she had been in hospital and then it slipped her mind.

Magistrates fined her £160, ordered her pay a victim surcharge of £64 and costs of £427.20 - a total of £651.20.

Ian Hoult, Durham County Council's neighbourhood protection manager, said: "There are all sorts of ways to get rid of waste legally, including our household waste recycling centres. We know the vast majority of our residents and businesses do dispose of their waste responsibly and we are grateful to them for that.

"Dumping waste as Mr Mackenzie did is never the answer as it is both unsightly and bad for the environment.

"It is also really important that people who are getting someone else to dispose of waste on their behalf, make sure it will end up at the right place. Ms Ellis made arrangements for someone to get rid of two lots of waste but did not ensure it was disposed of correctly, resulting in it being dumped at a residential property.

"Both defendants are now left with criminal convictions and with considerable financial penalties as a result of their actions. We hope what has happened to them will act as a lesson to both them and others in the future and show that we will pursue enforcement against anyone committing environmental offences."