Litter lout claims he removed waste to get to his cigarettes

A man has been fined £800 for dumping building waste on National Trust land.
Rubbish dumped in the Ashridge National Trust estateRubbish dumped in the Ashridge National Trust estate
Rubbish dumped in the Ashridge National Trust estate

Marek Litwinski, 38, of Highbury Road, Luton, pleaded guilty to dumping waste illegally near a parking area at the Ashridge National Trust estate.

Wycombe Magistrates Court heard that on March 15, four sacks of building waste were found dumped in bushes near to the estate.

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Details within the dumped waste were traced to a building firm from Luton. The firm fits its vans with trackers, and so it was able to identify the driver responsible.

When interviewed Litwinski admitted dumping the waste. He said he had taken the sacks out of the van to get to his cigarettes which were in his coat but he could not explain why he had not put the sacks back or why he had dumped them in bushes well away from the vehicle.

He acknowledged that dumping waste in this manner would also be illegal in his native Poland.

Magistrates fined Litwinski £800 and ordered him to pay clean-up and prosecution costs of £745.

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A victim surcharge of £80 was also added, making a total to pay of £1,625.

The waste was found by National Trust volunteers during a clean-up exercise and was cleared and disposed of at the trust’s expense.

The case was prosecuted by Bucks County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Bucks.

The Waste Partnership launched the ‘Illegal Dumping Costs’ campaign in October 2003 and has secured 482 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences since then.