Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, with contact details for the Shop a Tipper scheme
City of Wolverhampton Council is issuing the stern warning as it continues its crackdown on fly tipping and those who fail to assist with enquiries.
In the latest prosecution brought by the council, Eric Kwansah, of Byrne Road, Blakenhall, was found guilty in his absence of one obstruction charge under section 110 of The Environment Act 1995, for failing to comply with investigating officers’ requests for assistance.
Dudley Magistrates Court fined Kwansah £400 during the hearing on 19 February. He was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £160 and costs of £1,211.86. The costs awarded to the council will be reinvested back into its environmental crime service.
In this case, council CCTV captured a man leaving a property in Byrne Road at around 6.40am on 20 February last year. He removed a mattress from the front of the property and dragged it on foot, along Byrne Road and into Napier Road, where he left it.
Two days later, again around 6.40am, a man was filmed leaving the same property, carrying what appeared to be a pane of glass or mirror into Napier Road, where he again left the item.
An officer from the council’s environmental crime team then visited the property in Byrne Road and left a card asking the occupier to contact the council. Further enquiries by the officer identified the occupant as Kwansah.
A £400 fixed penalty notice (FPN) was delivered by hand and Kwansah got in touch with the officer to say he had always left items of waste in the street, and they had been taken away. The officer explained this was fly tipping and was an offence, but Kwansah said he could not pay the fine.
The payment period was extended, but no payment was received. An appointment for Kwansah to attend the Civic Centre was made but no further contact was received and no payment was made.
Kwansah’s failure to comply with the request prevented officers from furthering their investigation into who was responsible for the fly tipping. As a result, the prosecution for obstruction was brought.
The recent action supports ongoing work under the council’s Shop a Tipper campaign where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared to appeal for information to help identify them.
If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton Gift Card.
Residents can contact 01902 555685 with information or report online at Fly-Tipping – Shop a Tipper.
Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Suspected fly tippers cannot just simply ignore contact from us and hope we will forget.
“In this case, we gave the defendant the opportunity to discuss the incident. We also extended the payment period of the fine, but the offender still didn’t comply.
“Bringing this case to court serves as an example to others that they can’t just ignore our investigations. We will take all necessary measures to keep our city clean and fly tippers should be aware that we have recently increased our Fixed Penalty Notice to £1,000.
“Fly tipping is a blight on the local environment and we are continually working to tackle this unpleasant and illegal behaviour.”
Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am to 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.
A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at Bulky item collection.