Wiltshire man fined for fly-tipping

It's after the man got into an argument with refuse collectors last year.

Author: Harry LongPublished 14 hours ago

A man from Wiltshire has been fined for fly-tipping.

It's after the man got into an argument with refuse collectors over a bin collection in Hilperton on 28 June 2023.

Reuben Spong was arrested on 30 October, and pleaded guilty to fly-tipping on 8 November at Swindon Magistrates Court. He was fined a total of £1133.

Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Highways, Flooding and Street Scene, said: “We launched the Recycling – let’s sort it! campaign to raise awareness in our communities about the items that can and cannot be recycled in blue lidded bins, and to increase our recycling efforts.

“In this case, Mr Spong had items in his blue bin that we are unable to collect and our waste teams informed him of this with the red contamination hanger. If he removed the incorrect items, he could have put his bin out again at his next collection date. However, he took it upon himself to act inappropriately towards our contractors and fly-tip the waste in the street. This successful prosecution shows that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour towards our contractors, or fly-tipping in this way.

“I’d like to thank the refuse collectors on that day for their diligence and professionalism in dealing with the situation, and also Wiltshire Police for helping us to track down and prosecute this man.”

Nicola Towell, Contract Manager at Hills Municipal Collections, said, “The way that Mr Spong acted towards our staff is totally unacceptable. Abuse of our staff, in any form, will not be tolerated and any threats towards them will be reported to the police.

“The crews are here to help and have the right to work in a safe environment. I’d like to extend my thanks to both Wiltshire Council’s Environmental Enforcement team and Wiltshire Police, who helped us find and prosecute this man.”

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