8:00pm Thursday 13th January 2011
A Wellington man has been landed with fines and costs totalling £1,170 after dumping rubbish in the countryside.
Shane Hemburrow, 30, of Gay Close, failed to appear before Taunton Deane magistrates last Thursday but was found guilty of fly-tipping in his absence.
Now Taunton Deane Council is warning people not to be tempted into taking short-cuts when dealing with rubbish.
Cllr Ken Hayward, who holds the council’s environmental services portfolio, said: “Everyone has a duty to protect the countryside – not just the council.
“That means that people must dispose of their rubbish responsibly.
“They can take rubbish to the waste recycling centre if it cannot be collected in the usual way.
“Fly-tipping not only spoils the countryside, it can be hazardous to wildlife and farm animals.
“Our message is clear: we take environmental crime seriously and will prosecute.”
The court heard that a landowner had reported black sacks of rubbish being dumped at a beauty spot on the Blackdown Hills, close to the Wellington Monument.
Soon after, a local farmer reported similar fly-tipping in his field entrance.
Police, working in partnership with environmental health officers at Taunton Deane Council, traced the tipping back to Hemburrow.
Hemburrow was fined £435 on each of two fly-tipping charges and ordered to pay £100 clean-up costs, £185 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
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