Man given bill of more than £3,000 for illegal waste dumping in Aston Clinton

Andrew Jamieson, 47, of Marroway, Weston Turville, claimed he had paid someone else to dispose of his commercial waste was found guilty of failure in his duty of care when it was dumped in Aston Clinton.

Investigators had traced the waste, dumped on a farm access track off the overbridge of College Road North above the A41, to work carried out by his company at Prestwood in Buckinghamshire.

When interviewed, Jamieson refused to answer questions, but at the trial he said he had paid a man to dispose of the waste - though he was unable to produce any details.

The court found that Jamieson had not made sufficient checks on the next holder of the waste and had therefore not complied with his duty of care obligation. This meant that the responsibility for what happened to the waste lay with him.

Sentencing took place at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on December 13 2017, when magistrates fined Jamieson £720 for his duty of care failure and ordered him to pay £2,000 towards prosecution and investigation costs.

He was also ordered to pay clean-up compensation of £225 and a victim surcharge of £72, making his total bill following the case £3,017.

Aylesbury Vale District Council cabinet member for the environment Sir Beville Stanier said: “The duty of care over waste exists in law to ensure that a producer of waste takes full responsibility for its proper disposal.

“This case is a prime example of the court finding that a waste producer was responsible for illegal dumping through duty of care, even though the defendant tried to pass the blame onto an anonymous carrier.

“Anyone producing commercial waste should be aware that they will be held to account if waste traced to them is disposed of illegally in Buckinghamshire and they do not have evidence of a bona fide waste transfer.”

If you witness fly tipping taking place or wish to report illegally dumped waste you can visit www.buckscc.gov.uk/fly