A FLY-TIPPER has been fined over £400 for dumping guttering in a beauty spot.

Richard Barton, of Mayfair, Reading, discarded the waste, that also included wood, along the side of the road at Linkenholt Hill on July 27 last year.

Barton was seen by a witness unloading rubbish from his truck before driving off and leaving it.

He had previously denied the offence but following a trial at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Thursday, August 9, he was found guilty.

Magistrates imposed a fine of £480 and he was ordered to pay court costs of £472, along with a £48 victim surcharge.

Environmental portfolio holder Councillor Graham Stallard said: “We have said time and again that we will not tolerate fly-tipping and this is another example of us being true to our word.

“Linkenholt Hill is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and one that we will not allow to be blighted by those who find it acceptable to dump their rubbish. We will not allow this crime to go unpunished and will do all we can to bring those responsible to justice.”