Local tree surgeon fined £3,000 for fly tipping

Fly-tipping has cost a tree surgeon more than £3,000 after a successful court prosecution by Cheshire East Council’s community enforcement team..

Richard Carrington, who runs a Macclesfield-based tree felling business, Stump Up, was ordered to pay a £2,000 fine with £1,000 costs and a £85 victim surcharge, after pleading guilty to dumping felled timber and other waste on land off the A34 at Moreton, near Congleton.

Carrington, (28) of Box Lane, Congleton, was also ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid community work when he appeared before South Cheshire Magistrates at Crewe, on Tuesday (23 October).

He was spotted by a local farmer unloading his flat-bed tipper truck in a field, leaving a pile of felled timber, wood chip, a broken up wooden gate and protective workwear, including goggles and masks.

He was caught red-handed when challenged by another member of the public, who used his vehicle to prevent the truck from being driven away.

Police were called to the scene and provided the council with supporting statements towards the prosecution. Carrington was told at the time the matter would be investigated.

In court, he pleaded guilty to knowingly depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit.

The council has the power to prosecute when fly-tipping has taken place on public or private property.

Councillor Janet Clowes, Cheshire East Council cabinet member with responsibility for rural affairs, said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on our countryside and this council will not hesitate to prosecute. I want to express my sincere thanks to the local farmer and those members of the public who took action to ensure this individual was caught in the act and who called the police. The heavy fine in this case sends out a strong message that the courts, as well as the council, take fly-tipping extremely seriously.”

The court heard the offence took place in March, 2018 when the farmer, who was out walking his dog, spotted the tipper truck approaching the field along a driveway.

Cheshire East Council has a robust policy for tackling fly-tipping in urban and rural areas and has invested £100,000 in new measures to crack down on offenders.

Prosecutions can result in heavy fines with a maximum penalty of £50,000 or prison for the most serious offences.