Man fined £400 after he was caught on camera dumping rubbish in the Harborough district countryside

A man has been fined £400 after he was caught dumping rubbish on a country lane in a Harborough district village.

The culprit, aged in his 30s, was captured by a CCTV camera after he borrowed a van to fly-tip a pile of waste on London Road, Great Glen.

The man, who’s from Leicester and hasn’t been named, broke the law on Sunday October 10.

He dumped a vanload of junk, including furniture and other household items, on to the side of the road.

Harborough District Council’s enviro-crime team tracked the van down to a local business.

Officers urgently contacted the firm’s director.

And they discovered that the vehicle had been lent by an employee to a friend who used it to tip the rubbish.

The offender admitted the offence - and was ordered to pay a £400 fixed penalty notice.

Cllr Jonathan Bateman, Harborough Council’s Cabinet lead for environmental services, said: “This is another great result from our officers.

“It sends a clear message that fly-tipping will not be tolerated in our district - and that we will do all we can to catch those responsible for blighting our countryside.”

The prosecution is the latest of a string of fixed penalty notices – five since April 2021 alone – handed out to fly-tippers by Harborough council over the last few years.

The authority has also successfully taken offenders to court as part of its award-winning Tip Off campaign to crack down on the illegal dumping of waste in the district.

The high-profile eco-crusade has helped to slash fly-tipping over the last two years, bucking the national trend.

There are several ways to dispose of waste that cannot go into wheeled bins:

Take large waste items to your local recycling and waste site (tip)

Use a licensed waste carrier to remove your waste - it is a legal requirement to use a licensed waste carrier (you can also check if someone has a licence on the Environment Agency website)

The council’s large (bulky) waste items for collection service allows for up to three large household items or 12 sacks of waste to be collected for a charge of £35.04.

Find out more about Tip Off on the council’s website at www.harborough.gov.uk/tipoff