Good news! We’re starting to win the war on fly-tipping. A landmark prosecution we recently brought against a fly-tipper in Harrow marks a turning point, I think. That individual profited from the misery of others, but paid the price big time.
Philip Cash was a prolific career dumper. Dubbed ‘lord of the fly-tips’, he admitted responsibility for five illegal dumps committed over the last year when he most recently appeared in court. Cash earned hundreds of pounds posing as a legitimate waste management professional, touting for business door-to-door and just dumping what he was given in residential streets and even a local beauty spot. He even dumped some waste on the same road from which he’d collected it just minutes earlier.
This was Cash’s third prosecution for environmental crimes and the presiding magistrate used the full range of powers available to him in sentencing this career criminal. Cash was handed a 12 month prison term, suspended for two years. He’s been electronically tagged for 16 weeks and is subject to a curfew. Cash was ordered to pay £5,990 in costs, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and has had the vehicle he used for the crimes seized by the police. It’s a very comprehensive package of measures, and one that shows that our courts take the issue of fly-tipping very seriously. I’m delighted with the message it sends to other would-be fly-tippers about the sentences available, and our determination to see them applied.
This prosecution came thanks to the hard work of Harrow Council staff, who I’ve authorised to use every tool at their disposal. We’re getting increasingly sophisticated in tackling what for me is now a number one priority, and the fly-tippers are starting to feel it. We’re investing in new technology and employing new tactics. More and more we’re using covert operations to catch those who blight our streets and these, together with state-of-the-art CCTV and other measures, including old-fashioned leg work, are helping us to build more robust cases against the dumpers. Where their offences are less serious, we can fast-track them to a £400 fine, and for those, like Mr Cash, whose crimes demand tougher measures, we’re pushing for the maximum penalties available through the courts.
Help your local council by reporting any fly-tips you see – in Harrow, just go to www.harrow.gov.uk/environment - we now come out to clear them 24 hours a day.
