A rogue trader and a landscape gardener have been fined hundreds of pounds each after being caught fly-tipping in the same country lane.

Steven Clatworthy, of Twigg Close, Erith, dumped household and garden waste across School Lane near Fawkham on at least three occasions last summer.

The mounting piles of rubbish were first noticed by a local resident on August 7 who reported a large amount of fly-tipping blocking the highway.

After the incident, Sevenoaks council erected CCTV along the narrow route together with warning signs advising of its operation.

Just days later on August 15, the cameras captured Clatworthy dispensing with waste from his maroon van.

Enforcement teams traced the debris to an Erith resident who had paid the 45-year-old £150 to dispose of wood, a shed, a wardrobe, and a distinctive pink carpet and underlay.

Just three days later, another resident witnessed the rogue trader dumping rubbish on the lane and made a note of his number plate.

A member of the public photographed a dispatch note amongst the rubbish and using this information, the council traced the fly-tipping to the same Erith resident who had used Clatworthy for a second time.

On August 28, yet more rubbish was found dumped in the lane.

The resident who discovered the incident took photos of business flyers amongst the waste and the council linked this incident to a Mottingham-based business who used Clatworthy to clear trade waste.

The serial dumper was charged and later pleaded guilty to fly-tipping waste contrary to the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

On Friday, he was fined £360, ordered to pay £2,140 in costs and £50 in compensation at Sevenoaks Magistrates' Court.

Also appearing at the same court last week was William Moulson, of Keith Avenue, South Darenth.

The 29-year-old was caught tipping a large amount of waste on the morning of June 6 which blocked the same country lane.

Moulson, a landscape gardener, had fly-tipped asbestos, wood and garden waste just two miles from his home.

It resulted in an expensive taxpayer funded clean-up operation costing nearly £1,300 due to the dangerous nature of the waste.

At court, Moulson pleaded guilty to fly-tipping waste and was fined £500, ordered to pay £1,717.75 in costs and £50 in compensation.

Cllr Margot McArthur, Sevenoak council's cabinet member for cleaner and greener, said: “I would like to thank the residents who came forward with evidence, helping us to secure these convictions.

“In both of these cases, the fly-tippers had little regard for the environment, dumping their waste in woodland, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, not to mention the inconvenience and potential danger to others by blocking the road.

"Our residents and the council will not tolerate fly-tipping”

“These latest prosecutions send out a strong message to anyone thinking about dumping rubbish in the district: our residents and the council will not tolerate fly-tipping.”

Anyone paying for waste removal is obliged to check whether the service provider is licensed. Failing to do so could result in a fine of up to £5,000 and a criminal record.

Fly-tipping was reported to be on the rise last year as tips closed over lockdown.

New data has since shared an insight into the scale of the problem across the county with two authorities failing to hand out a single fine.

Last month, Pease Hill in Ash, near Sevenoaks, was closed for two weeks after fly-tippers dumped asbestos there.

Hazardous fly-tipping has also been repeatedly dumped on an access road leading to the Barnfield Park caravan park, near New Ash Green.

Earlier this month, Kent Police received a report that numerous oil drums had been discarded at the site. No suspects have been identified at this stage.

And a builder in the Sevenoaks area was fined more than £1,000 after he paid £180 for a man to take his rubbish without checking whether he was licensed.

Gravesham Borough Council also revealed last week that two householders from Gravesend had been fined £400 each by officers from the Environmental Enforcement Team for dumping furniture in the street and a 66-year-old Gravesend man had been fine £150 for littering, after being witnessed dumping his fast food wrappings in a flower bed in the town centre.

To check if a removal service has a license, call the Environment Agency on 08708 506 506 and ask for a free instant waste carrier validation check. Alternatively check online here.

To report fly-tipping, visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/flytipping or call 01732 227000.

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