An illegal waste carrier who lived in Swaffham has been fined £1000 by Breckland Council after being caught fly tipping waste in Ashill.

After receiving a report from the member of the public about fly-tipping on agricultural land Breckland Council launched an investigation, which quickly linked the waste to a Norwich household.  The resident confirmed they had hired a ‘man with a van’ via social media to dispose of the waste legally at a local recycling centre.  The van driver had agreed to take the waste away for just £20 and take it directly to a local recycling centre. The original waste owner could provide contact details of the driver, text messages agreeing to collect the waste and a list of what waste had been collected from their property.

The van driver was tracked down by Breckland Council Enforcement Officers, who was originally from the Swaffham area but had moved to  Reading, who admitted to fly tipping in Ashill, as well as failing to hold a waste carriers licence and providing a waste transfer note. The culprit has now agreed to collect the waste and correctly dispose of it at a local recycling centre, whilst accepting a £1000 fly tipping fine.

Cllr Gordon Bambridge, Executive Member for Waste and Environment at Breckland Council commented: “If someone is offering a cut-price service online or makes an unsolicited visit to your home offering cheap waste collection, this should be a red flag to triple check if this is a legitimate and licenced business. Always get a receipt listing what waste has been taken and where it is being legally disposed, check if they have a waste carriers’ licence and keep the business contact information. By following this advice, it will not only help stop rogue traders from operating in our community, but ultimately reduce fly tipping incidents across Norfolk.”

Residents in Breckland can report fly-tipping incidents at www.breckland.gov.uk/flytip