A fly-tipper has been ordered to cough up thousands of pounds after failing to pay a £400 fine.

Jan Balog, from Northfleet, was caught dumping waste in Edwin Street, Gravesend, and has now been told to pay £2,368 by Sevenoaks magistrates.

Balog and another man were identified by investigating officers as being responsible for dumping household waste and furniture which came from a nearby property in November 2022.

The 38-year-old was issued a £400 fixed penalty notice by Gravesham council but he failed to pay the fine and didn’t attend a court hearing.

As a result, a warrant was issued, and he was arrested by the police.

Balog appeared in court on Thursday, October 5 where magistrates noted his failure to cooperate with investigating officers and told him fly-tipping was a terrible blight on our country.

The court fined Balog £1,430, as well as telling him to pay a victim surcharge of £572 and £366 in costs and compensation.

The second man is due to appear in court at a later date in connection with the same incident.

Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox, the local authority’s cabinet member for strategic environment, said the case “served as a warning” for future fly-tippers.

He added: “If you receive a fixed penalty notice, do not ignore it in the hope we will just go away – we won’t.

“We do not tolerate fly-tipping and where we have evidence pointing to those who have committed offences, we will pursue them to ensure justice is seen to be done.

“If you choose not to pay a fixed penalty notice, you risk a far higher fine and additional costs when we pursue court action.”

Gravesham council is increasing its fines for littering and fly-tipping to £500 and £1,000 respectively, which will come into place by the end of October. This is in line with a change in national legislation.

Householders failing to ensure anyone removing waste on their behalf will face fines of £600 if the contents are traced back to them.

Cllr Mochrie-Cox added: “While we welcome the change in our powers allowing us to impose these harsher penalties, we will continue to lobby the government to go even further.

“We believe the penalties we can impose on offenders should at the very least cover the cost of clearing and disposing of the rubbish they leave behind.

“The council taxpayer should not have to foot the bill for these environmental crimes.”