Published Tuesday, 27th February 2018
Magistrates have ordered a man from Mitcham to pay over £3,000 after he dumped car parts and other rubbish next to a country lane in Reigate.
Officers from Reigate & Banstead Borough Council found the fly tip in a secluded spot off Whitehall Lane behind South Park Football Club. They traced the owner of the items, Mr John Thoroughgood of McRae Lane, Mitcham from evidence found among the rubbish.
Blight on countryside
“Dumping rubbish is highly antisocial and blights our countryside. We always investigate fly tips to identify perpetrators whenever possible. As this case shows, we will issue fines and, if necessary, pursue people through the courts,” says Councillor Graham Knight, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council’s Executive Member for Community Safety. “Our message is clear: if you have rubbish to dispose of, do so responsibly and legally. Spoiling our towns or countryside with your rubbish can result in a criminal record, a fine and even a prison sentence.”
Full legal costs
The case was heard at Guildford Magistrate’s Court on 29 January. Mr Thoroughgood did not appear in court and was sentenced in his absence.
The court fined Mr Thoroughgood £720 for the offence and ordered him to pay the Council’s full legal costs of £2,345 and a victim surcharge of £72. As Mr Thoroughgood was unemployed, the Court indicated that the total of £3,137 would be deducted from his benefits.