A MAN has been prosecuted following a council investigation into some fly tipping in Barling.

Rochford District Council and Southend Council mounted a joint investigation after the waste was found dumped in Mucking Hall Road in May 2015.

This led to the prosecution of Dean Swain, aged 27, of South Avenue, Southend, who appeared before Southend Magistrates Court on 26th April 2016.

He pleaded guilty to charges of failure to provide information and failure to produce waste duty of care documentation and was ordered to pay a total of £1,475 in fines and court costs.

Marcus Hotten, Assistant Director – Environmental Services at Rochford District Council, said: “I hope that this prosecution serves as a warning to anyone who may consider fly-tipping in our district.

"It demonstrates that we take the dumping of illegal waste extremely seriously, and our officers will carry out a thorough investigation wherever evidence is found.

“This case was a brilliant example of partnership working and I would like to thank our colleagues at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council who helped us bring this case to a successful conclusion, and the hard work that our own staff have personally put into getting this outcome.”

Imran Kazalbash, Waste Management and Contracts Manager for Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, says: “Fly-tipping is a blight on the community and a drain on local taxpayers and so we are very pleased to secure this prosecution in partnership with our colleagues in Rochford.

"We have a responsibility to investigate cases like this, and this outcome shows that we will do what is necessary to bring forward a prosecution.”

Fly-tipping is a serious criminal offence for which you can be prosecuted.

The courts have various powers available to them to tackle fly-tipping, including imprisonment and/or substantial fines of up to £50,000.

Advice and guidance is available to householders; all householders have a legal ‘duty of care’ to ensure that waste is only given to people who are registered waste carriers.

If you have work done on your house it is your responsibility to ensure it is disposed of correctly.

In fact, you could face a hefty fine if your waste ends up fly-tipped and you cannot show that you took reasonable steps to prevent it.

If you witness someone fly-tipping, please note down as many details of the event as possible, such as:

• The date and time of the incident

• Precise location

• Details of the items disposed of

• Identification of the person and their address if known If you have information about fly-tipping please contact Rochford District Council customer services on 01702 318111.

If you have information about fly-tipping in Southend-on-Sea please report it at www.southend.gov.uk/reportit