Flytipper sentenced at North Lincolnshire court

A Brigg man who continued to dump residents rubbish despite being under investigation – leaving North Lincolnshire Council and the landowner to foot the bill to clean it up – has narrowly missed a prison sentence, but has paid the price for his wrong-doing.
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Thomas Baker, of East Parade, Brigg, was sentenced at North Lincolnshire Magistrates Court in Scunthorpe, after pleading guilty to three offences of fly-tipping, and received a 12-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, ordered to pay £1,349 costs, ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work and a curfew of four weeks between 9pm and 6.30am.

He confessed to the first offence of dumping 70 black bags of household waste on private land off Carr Lane, Worlaby – when he was interviewed under caution in February 2015 and the council decided to prosecute him. The rubbish included food waste, nappies, car parts, fridge freezers, carpet, underlay, children’s toys and other waste, including a bath.

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This didn’t stop him though as he then went on to commit two further offences in April when he dumped huge amounts of household waste on Carr Lane in Broughton.

On both occasions, evidence removed contained names and addresses, and when questioned residents confirmed they had paid Mr Baker to remove their waste.

Residents contacted Mr Baker after seeing him advertise his services on Facebook and other social media sites. They paid him anywhere between £15 and £40 to get rid of their waste, not knowing that they themselves were breaking the law by giving their rubbish to an unlicenced carrier.

Cabinet member for Neighbourhoods at North Lincolnshire Council, Coun Neil Poole, said: “We believe this is the highest penalty ever given locally for fly tipping. It sends out a strong message – that we won’t tolerate it. What is worrying is that people unwittingly hand over cash thinking they are doing the right thing, when they are in danger of getting into trouble with the law themselves by giving their rubbish to an unlicenced carrier.

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“Under the Household Duty of Care law, you must ensure you give your waste to someone who is licenced with the Environment Agency – if you don’t, you are breaking the law. If you are considering giving your rubbish to someone to dispose of, ask to see proof that they are licenced with the Environment Agency. It is an absolute must.

“In this case, Mr Baker simply ignored all the advice given to him and continued to flout the law with total disregard to the consequences. Unfortunately for him, the law has caught up with him and he will now pay the price.”

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