A man is £1,600 out of pocket after he was found to be fly-tipping.

Jack Lee, of Three Lakes Caravan Site in Murston, was prosecuted after waste was dumped in Hartlip and Rochester.

The 47-year-old was linked to plasterboard, construction and demolition waste, wood, carpet, doors, a fridge freezer and loose household waste being tipped in Warren Lane, Hartlip, around November 20 in 2017.

Swale council officers traced the waste to south east London and the owner identified Lee as the person who had removed the waste.

He was also linked to a second incident around Tuesday, January 8, this year when plasterboard, a bath, tiles and black bag waste blocked Common Road in Rochester, which was investigated by Medway Council.

The two councils agreed for Swale to act on Medway’s behalf in prosecuting Lee, and the case was first heard at Maidstone Magistrates' Court on Friday, June 21, where he denied two charges of fly-tipping.

A trial date was set but Lee changed his plea to guilty.

"We will do whatever we can to find and prosecute those responsible..." Cllr Tim Valentine (Green)

He was sentenced on Thursday, August 8 to 162 days in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £115 and the councils' costs of £1,485.

Cabinet member for environment, Cllr Tim Valentine (Green), said: "This is a good result after some fantastic work by officers and their colleagues in Medway to investigate these incidents.

"Fly-tipping is a serious crime, and we will do whatever we can to find and prosecute those responsible.

"Not only are they spoiling our countryside, they are causing disruption and unnecessary expense to local communities who have to foot the bill to clean up their mess.

"I would urge anyone who needs to have waste removed to make sure they use only licenced waste carriers.

"If you don’t, there’s a good chance it will end up dumped and you could be prosecuted yourself for failing in your duty of care to make sure the waste was disposed of properly."

To check whether someone is licenced to carry waste visit the Environment Agency website or call 03708 506506.

For more information about fly-tipping, and what the council is doing to tackle it, visit www.swale.gov.uk/fly-tipping

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