Dacorum man fined after hidden camera caught him fly-tipping near in rural lane

A fly-tipper from Dacorum has been fined for dumping waste in a rural lane elsewhere in the district after he was caught on a hidden camera.

Earlier this month, Edward Meredith, of Priory Orchard, Flamsted, pleaded guilty to the unauthorised deposit of controlled waste in Caddington Common, near Markyate, in November 2022. Meredith was ordered to pay just over £2,200, which included a victim surcharge of £492.

Magistrates heard that one of Dacorum Borough Council’s Environmental Enforcement Officers was called to a fly-tipping hot spot at Caddington Common. There, the officer found a pile of green waste dumped by the roadside. Footage from a covert surveillance camera, which had been installed in the area to catch fly-tippers, showed a driver of a white pick-up truck deposit the waste.

The defendant was traced through the vehicle and issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £400. However, despite being sent a reminder, the FPN was not paid. The council then pursued the matter through the courts.

Cllr Robin Bromham, the Portfolio Holder for Communities, said:

“It’s a great shame that a minority of people profit and incur costs to council tax payers by fly-tipping, rather than disposing of waste properly.

“Our Environmental Enforcement Officers are doing a great job in detecting these offenders, so that fixed penalties can be offered.

“Offenders have the option of having their case heard in court and, in this case, the court decided that the offence should attract a larger fine and awarded costs to us with a victim surcharge.”

The council is part of the Hertfordshire Fly Tipping Group - a multi-agency taskforce including the borough, district and county councils as well as Hertfordshire Constabulary, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Herts Fire and Rescue, the Environment Agency and the National Farmers' Union.

The organisations aim to improve how Hertfordshire responds to fly-tipping. The group is delivering improvements in enforcement capability across the county, as well as rolling out new technology to assist in identifying and prosecuting fly-tippers.

For more details visit the council’s information page on fly-tipping.