Abergavenny man prosecuted by council for Blorenge fly-tipping

An Abergavenny resident was prosecuted by Monmouthshire County Council on 17th November at Newport Magistrates Court for fly-tipping several tons of garden waste on the Blorenge mountainside last May.

Mr Shane Ewers pleaded guilty to two accounts of fly-tipping and carrying controlled waste while unregistered.  Mr Ewers had been interviewed by officers from the council's environmental health team after evidence found within the waste linked him to the incident and magistrates issued a fine of £200.  They also ordered Mr Ewers to pay the council costs of nearly £2,000.

Monmouthshire's cabinet member responsible for environmental health, Councillor Sara Jones said: "This was a very serious incident and a flagrant breach of the law, particularly given the quantity of the waste dumped and the scenic mountainous location.  This prosecution follows new powers recently given to Welsh councils to help tackle fly-tipping, giving council officers the ability to issue fixed penalty notices.  However, the scale of this particular incident did not warrant merely a fixed penalty notice.  While thankfully only a minority of persons offend in this way, this case and other successful prosecutions in recent years demonstrate that we are determined to hold to account persons responsible for these anti–social acts.''

Residents have a duty to ensure that they dispose of waste properly and if they entrust the job to another person they should ensure the contractor is a registered carrier. Call Natural Resources Wales on 0300 065 3000 or visitwww.naturalresourceswales.gov.uk to check if a person is a registered waste carrier.