Woman is fined after paying someone in good faith to get rid of her rubbish
A woman must pay more than £400 after asking someone in good faith to get her rubbish removed.
After around 20 bags of waste were dumped in a residential area in a village, Tyler Marie Richards was traced and an authority identified the rubbish as hers. The 15 black bags and four recycling bags contained household waste, and were abandoned beside a cardboard box, a plastic kennel, a black plastic bin and general loose waste near homes.
Richards, from Tonypandy, south Wales, had paid someone in good faith to have the waste removed - but the result was flytipping. The woman failed to engage with enforcement officers from Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council and didn't attend a number of interviews in relation to the flytipping.
She has now been found guilty of failing to control her waste and committing an offence under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, Wales Online reports. Richards has been handed a fine of £120, costs of £255.51 (clean-up costs only) and a victim surcharge of £48 - totalling £423.51.
Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, led by Labour, says the removal of flytipping costs the authority hundreds of thousands of pounds each year. Councillor Ann Crimmings, who is Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure, added: "Flytipping will not be tolerated, ever. There is never an excuse to blight our, towns, lanes, streets and villages with waste, and we will find those responsible and hold them to account.
"Our teams work hard to keep our streets and back lanes clean, and flytipping of any kind will not be tolerated. This case acts as a clear reminder to householders or businesses that if you pay someone, other than the council, to take your waste away, you should always check they have a waste carrier licence and ask for a waste transfer note. If your waste is fly tipped, you could be fined along with the individual or company you paid to remove it.
"Removal of flytipping costs hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, which should be spent on key frontline services at a time when budgets are under significant pressures.
"We will use every power available to us to hold those accountable for their actions. Many of the items we recover on our streets, towns and mountains could have been taken to a community recycling centre or collected from the kerbside at no extra cost."
A flytipper in nearby Pontypool was branded "selfish" by police after dumping carpets, backpacks, blankets, mattresses, half-empty tubs of paint, empty boxes and many other pieces of junk on a rural lane last year. Their actions blocked a road, cutting off a community for hours.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Live
3 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Expectant dad punched passenger and assaulted police officer in road rage incident
An expectant dad climbed into a van and repeatedly punched a passenger, in a road rage incident, before assaulting a female police officer, trying to stop the attack. Corey Chugg, a scrapyard worker, admitted causing actual bodily harm (ABH) to the van passenger but denied assaulting the officer, PC Evans, reports WalesOnline. The 28-year-old's trial at Cardiff Magistrates' Court heard the incident took place on August 28 last year outside Cardiff Central police station in Cathays Park. Chugg said he had just finished a shift off Dumballs Road when he received a call from his pregnant partner. "My partner called me very upset because she had been cut up by a gentleman and two other men who had almost caused a collision," Chugg told the court. "I was connected to the Bluetooth speaker in my car and I could hear how aggressive they were being to her, swearing and following her. I left work to go there with the intention of just stopping the aggression from them because she was newly pregnant and our two dogs were in the car as well." The 6ft 4ins-tall Chugg pulled up on King Edward VII Avenue in his blue Ford Fiesta. Asked what he was planning, he said: "My intention was to speak to the gentlemen in the van. Granted it wasn't gonna be a polite conversation. "As I opened the door, the passenger in the front spat at me. There's no justifying it but I did jump across and assault him." CCTV footage showed the van rocking as Chugg clambered in and rained punches on the passenger Samuel Turato. The court heard Mr Turato sustained three to four bumps on his head and a cut to his right ear. "I did want to speak to the driver as well," said Chugg. "He was the one I knew was making most of the threats and being aggressive to my partner." As Chugg got out of the van to look for the driver, he was approached by PC Evans, who touched his arm. "She tried to grab my arm and I did brush her hand off and moved away from her," said Chugg. "I didn't show any aggression or make any attempt to assault her." But prosecutor Nicholas Evans said this was a "reckless assault" as Chugg had moved his arm away "very swiftly" and caused a mark on PC Evans' hand. Other officers arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and Chugg was arrested. Representing himself, he told the court: "If she'd told me she was arresting me I would have complied." District Judge Rhys Williams found Chugg guilty of assaulting the officer. "It's clear you were angry," said the judge. "You assaulted the passenger in the van, you were violent and aggressive, you got out of the van, and the approaching officer PC Evans would have heard raised voices and seen some of what had gone on as the van was rocking." The judge said Chugg should have expected the officer "would have at least wanted to speak to you". Batting away her arm was a reckless and unlawful use of force, Judge Williams told the defendant. The court heard Chugg had a previous ABH conviction from 2017 and a caution for battery from 2013. He told the court his six-days-a-week scrap job earns him around £450 each week after tax and that he is the sole provider for his family as his partner recently gave birth. The mortgage on their home is £1,200 a month, he said. Chugg, of Dan-Y-Cribyn in Ynysybwl, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in prosecution costs, £75 in compensation to Mr Turato, £50 to PC Evans, and a £114 victim services surcharge.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Labour hands illegal immigrants £60m to fight asylum claims
Labour will increase legal aid fees for asylum cases by a third after small boat crossings hit 20,000 for the year. The Ministry of Justice has announced that the fees paid to lawyers to represent migrants fighting to stay in Britain will go up by 30 per cent. The direct costs to the taxpayer will rise from £47 million a year to £61 million. Ministers said the move was necessary to clear the 90,000-strong backlog of asylum claims and end the use of hotels to house migrants. It comes just a day after the 20,000 mark for small boat arrivals was breached at a record early point in the year. 'Soft touch of Britain' Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Yet again, Labour is showing their true colours. On the side of illegal immigrants, not the British people. 'Having removed our deterrent on day one, since then they have done everything in their power to make Britain the soft touch of Europe on migration. This will just make it even more attractive to illegally arrive in the UK. 'They said they would smash the gangs, but all they are doing is helping them smash small boat records.' He added: 'These parasitic lawyers help illegal immigrants manufacture bogus asylum, human rights and modern slavery claims and now they're going to be given even more taxpayers' hard-earned money. 'Labour is more interested in rewarding those who enable illegal immigration than protecting our borders. No wonder 2025 so far has been the worst in history for illegal immigrants crossing the channel.' The 30 per cent uprating will be the first time the funding has been raised since it was set in 2006, based on hourly rates established in 1996. In recent years concerns have been raised over the shrinking pool of firms who are prepared to take on legal aid work given the rates paid for it. Sarah Sackman, the justice minister, said the extra investment 'will help us support the immigration system' and clear the asylum backlog. Announcing the reforms, she said: 'In immigration, the new government is serious and ambitious about ending hotel use and increasing returns. 'This can only be done with the support of legal aid professionals, which is why supporting the capacity of the sector is crucial.' But the change is likely to prove controversial, given that it comes against the backdrop of a series of highly controversial immigration decisions. The Telegraph has revealed a string of cases where asylum seekers have been able to thwart deportation by relying on human rights laws. In one recent judgment a Pakistani criminal was allowed to stay in the UK after a judge ruled that his deportation would damage his son's mental health. Another saw an asylum seeker from Tajikistan granted the right to remain because he would have had to shave his beard off if he was deported. Migrant legal aid is largely restricted to asylum seekers and can fund cases involving fighting detention and deportation as well as accommodation claims. It is also used in cases involving migrant victims of domestic violence and modern slavery.
North Wales Live
7 hours ago
- North Wales Live
Dangerous paedophile used rendition of Coldplay song to try and sexually groom girl
A dangerous paedophile sent a video of himself, to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl, singing a Coldplay love song, a court has heard. Gareth Davies, 64, also sent a series of messages on Facebook, the court heard, telling the girl how pretty she was and also asking her about sex, reports WalesOnline. Davies boasted he had previously been acquitted of rape while other allegations against him had not been proceeded with. He referred to himself as "Teflon Taff." But Swansea Crown Court heard in reality, Davies was communicating with a member of so-called paedophile hunter group operating a decoy account on Facebook and members of the group later tracked him down to the boat he was living on. When arrested the defendant denied the messages he had been sending were sexual, a stance he maintained during his trial and to the author of the pre-sentence report following his conviction by a jury. Ashanti-Jade Walton, prosecuting, had previously told the court that in November last year Davies made contact with the profile of a 14-year-old girl on Facebook. The girl's account was actually being operated by a woman acting as part of a so-called paedophile hunter group, and she made her purported age clear to the defendant but continued with the interactions. The court heard that in the messages Davies told the girl she was pretty and said he had been "showing her off" to others. He told her she was his "special friend" and he referred to himself as her "cyber uncle". The court also heard Davies asked what he thought was a girl about whether she had had sex yet, telling her the first time would hurt but "if it is done right the pain will be very short and extreme ecstasy". The prosecutor said Davies then recorded a clip of himself singing the Coldplay love song Yellow and sent it to the girl, and talked about travelling to Yorkshire to meet the "girl". The court heard members of the paedophile hunter group managed to identify the boat in Swansea Marina where Davies lived with his dog and said on December 12 a number of members confronted the defendant and contacted the police. The defendant was arrested and taken to Swansea Central police station. In interview Davies accepted exchanging messages with the Facebook profile in question but said there was nothing sexual in the messages and said the pair were just friends. He also said he had a "dead c**k" and was asexual and therefore was not attracted to anyone. Gareth Davies, now of a hostel on Castle Street in Swansea city centre, had previously been convicted at trial of attempted sexual communications with a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has six previous convictions for nine offences including stalking without fear of violence from 2018 - this offending had seen him attending at the complainant's house and making a series of sexual comments. He also has a caution for harassment which involved him sending sexual messages to people on Facebook. Jon Tarrant, for Davies, said given the defendant maintained the position he held at trial there was little by way of mitigation he could put forward on his client's behalf. Don't miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here Judge Paul Thomas KC said having presided over the trial he had been able to form a view of Davies and gain an insight into his character, and he said he had no doubt the defendant is a "very calculating individual". He noted the author of the pre-sentence report had commented on how the defendant had shown a "great deal of cunning" in the messages he had sent the decoy which, in the main, had not been explicitly sexual in content but which had a sexual "subtext". The judge said based on everything he knew about Davies he considered him to be a dangerous offender but said the sentencing range open to him for the offending before the court did not allow him to impose and extended sentence. Davies was sentenced to 18 months in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was also placed on the sex offenders register.
