TWO flytippers who dumped rubbish in the borough have each been been ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines and court costs.

Mark Francis Day, of Pilgrims Way, Andover, appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Thursday last week for fly tipping near the B3048 at Longparish in February last year.

He was fined £800, ordered to pay £62 compensation and £470 costs.

Test Valley Borough Council, which supported the prosecution, said Day had been employed following a social media conversation where he agreed to take household rubbish away for someone but dumped it in the countryside instead with the council able to bring the case to court because of evidence supplied by witnesses.

On the same day, the same court convicted another man, Ian Jolley, of Borkum Close, for fly tipping garden waste from his gardening business, this time in Enham Lane, Charlton in March last year

Jolley was fined £1,170, ordered to pay £18.25 compensation and £470 costs after the the council brought the case to court because of footage obtained using one of its covert camera systems designed to capture fly tippers in the act.

Councillor Graham Stallard, environmental portfolio holder at the borough council, said: “This was a great result in court and a testament to the hard work done by our environmental and legal teams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the witnesses for coming forward and want this outcome to be a stark reminder that we will not tolerate fly tipping in our borough. All reports of fly tipping are investigated and will be taken through to prosecution with sufficient evidence. On this occasion the magistrates have also sent out a strong message with these heavy fines.”

The council has warned residents should be mindful about individuals advertising a ‘man and a van’ or ‘tip runs’ service, especially on social media, warning some advertise and take waste for a fee but fail to dispose of the waste responsibly.

Residents have a duty to ensure that their waste is disposed of properly.

The council advises residents to make sure they carry out checks on individuals who are employed to remove and dispose of waste on their behalf including recording a waste carrier’s licence number and asking where the waste is being disposed of, as well as recording the dates the individuals worked to remove the waste, their name, telephone number and vehicle registration number.

Flytipping incidents can be reported at testvalley.gov.uk/mytestvalley or by calling 01264 368000.