A FLY-TIPPER who ignored a fine and failed to attend court proceedings has been ordered to pay almost £2,000.
A man has been found guilty of dumping waste in an alleyway near his Ashton-under-Lyne home.
In July last year, Tameside Council enforcement officers responded to complaints of fly-tipping in a hotspot area of the town – an alleyway to the rear of Kings Road and Kenworthy Ashton.
They found bags of household waste, a number of cardboard boxes and various other bulky items – which were traced back to Enio Freitas.
Now of Queen Street in Ashton-under-Lyne, Freitas was living on Kenworthy Avenue at the time.
He ignored a fixed penalty notice for fly-tipping and, when the matter was referred to Tameside Magistrates’ Court, did not turn up on three occasions.
At the third and final hearing, Freitas was found guilty in his absence for fly-tipping and was fined £1,100, as well as being ordered to pay an additional £440 victim surcharge and £426 in costs.
The council hopes this latest action and the gravity of the fine will act as a deterrent to others.
“This is a great result and the severity of the fine imposed sends a clear message that fly-tipping is wholly unacceptable,” said Councillor Hugh Roderick.
The Assistant Executive Member for Enforcement continued: “So far this year, we have carried out seven successful prosecutions and issued 223 fixed penalty notices in relation to waste offences.
“I know that fly-tipping and litter is of great concern to the local community, most of whom dispose of their waste responsibly and take pride in their local neighbourhoods, and my thanks goes to everyone who works with us in tackling this issue.”
Information on how to report fly-tipping can be found on the local authority’s website at www.tameside.gov.uk/flytipping
Problem is it doesn’t stop. Recently there was a load of waste on apple street near werneth low. Multiple people reported it, even the MP managed to try and take credit for getting it shifted. A week or so later, more rubbish dumped in the same spot. Not really much of a solution is it. Fines should be much higher or they effectively just pay to dump stuff like they’d do anyway.
Also in July last year, the rubbish started piling up again on Bentinck Street, Ashton, after a Day of Action in the area a few weeks before – and has done so ever since, as it does in other Ashton rat-infested grot-spots. We’re talking about serious rubbish, not just a bit of litter or a few dumped bags.
As usual, the issue will get a momentary blast of publicity before it’s forgotten by Tameside council and others and the status quo will return.
That said, we must be thankful for small mercies and notice that the Tameside Reporter under its new ownership has started to acknowledge a problem it turned a blind eye to for years (September 5th front page).
Until Tameside council gets serious about the issue and starts to engage with people to find out WHY the problem persists, we’ll be having the same discussion and comments for years to come.
To paraphrase the late Desmond Tutu – “There comes a point where we need to stop just shifting dumped stuff off the streets. We need to find out why it’s being dumped in the first place”.
They need to confiscate their vehicles as well as heavy fines.
Fly tipping blights everywhere and there is no excuse.