A Carmarthenshire man who repeatedly dumped waste beside a railway line near Carmarthen has been handed a community order and a bill of more than £2,500.
Edward Bassett admitted fly-tipping waste on several occasions on private land next to the railway track near the Cillefwr Industrial Estate in Johnstown.
Carmarthenshire Council‘s environmental enforcement officers were called to the scene of a large-scale fly-tipping incident at the site on Saturday 6 December last year.
The waste dumped there included general household waste and building materials.
Officers recovered evidence from the scene, and the council says a detailed and protracted investigation followed to identify those responsible.
That investigation led to Bassett, who was formally interviewed by council officers and admitted fly-tipping waste at the location on several occasions.
He appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on 18 June, where he pleaded guilty to two offences — one under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and one under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989, which covers transporting waste without authorisation.
Bassett was sentenced to a 12-month community order, including 200 hours of unpaid work.
He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £2,403.24 and a victim surcharge of £140.
Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, the council’s cabinet member with responsibility for enforcement, said the case showed the council’s “commitment to investigating incidents thoroughly and taking robust enforcement action against those responsible.”
“We would encourage residents to continue reporting fly-tipping and to ensure that their waste is disposed of responsibly through authorised carriers and facilities,” he said.
The council says it takes a zero-tolerance approach to environmental crime and will pursue enforcement action wherever sufficient evidence exists.
It is the latest in a string of fly-tipping prosecutions across the wider area. Last month a waste boss was stripped of his licence following a conviction, while in April a Neath fly-tipper caught by a hidden camera was ordered to pay more than £5,000.
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