Man fined for fly-tipping offence

An Ammanford man has been prosecuted by the council for fly-tipping.

Leighton Balbini, aged 32, of Mynyddbach in Ammanford, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and Control of Pollution Amendment Act 1989 at Carmarthen Magistrates Court.

He was fined a total of £250 and ordered to pay £100 towards prosecution costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

The court heard that the council’s environmental enforcement unit received a report from a member of the public who had witnessed an offence of fly-tipping in Heol Nant in Llannon on September 17 last year. Approximately 15 bags of rubbish had been dumped into a hedge.

Officers attended the scene and found evidence linking the rubbish to an address in Tumble. They also had the registration number of the vehicle involved from the witness. Checks with the DVLA revealed the vehicle was registered to Balbini.

They also spoke to the resident of the address in Tumble who admitted paying Balbini £10 to remove his household waste.

During interview, Balbini admitted removing the waste and then dumping it in a hedge in Llannon. He told officers he was on his way to the tip in Llanelli but that the bags of rubbish were escaping from the opened boot of the car, so he dumped the bags of waste in the hedge and continued on the journey to the tip.

However, CCTV footage obtained from the recycling centre for that day showed no record of the vehicle entering the site.

Balbini was prosecuted for the fly-tipping offence and for removing and transporting waste without a Waste Carrier’s Licence.

Executive Board Member for Environmental and Public Protection Cllr Jim Jones said: “Fly-tipping is a blight on the landscape and can cause pollution as well as harm to wildlife and other animals. We will not hesitate to take action against offenders.”