A Sheffield man who dumped bags of household waste at Kimberworth has been hit in the pocket for £775 by magistrates.
Ben Lee Ibbotson, 36, of Colley Drive, Sheffield, used a hire van to tip rubbish at the old entrance to Walkworth Farm on Droppingwell Road. However, he hadn’t bargained on being caught on camera by Rotherham Council.
During interview by Council officers, Ibbotson was presented with images of the crime in progress but denied it was him in the pictures. Instead, he claimed that the van he was driving on hire at the time of the incident had been cloned. Investigators managed to counter this claim by matching a distinctive dent near the headlight of the van pictured at the crime scene, with the same dent on the van on hire to Ibbotson.
The white VW Crafter was captured being used to dump rubbish in October last year and Ibbotson pleaded guilty when he appeared before Sheffield magistrates at the end of March 2022. He was fined £150, ordered him to pay £590 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
Councillor Dominic Beck, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, said: “Rotherham Council is committed to providing a better environment for all and we will continue to prosecute anyone illegally disposing of waste. This is another excellent result for the Council and should serve as a warning to anyone who thinks they can just chuck their rubbish anywhere for others to clean up."
“You should always check that someone offering to take your rubbish away is licensed before agreeing to use their services. You can be prosecuted for using an unlicensed waste carrier.”
Tom Smith, Rotherham Council Assistant Director of Community Safety & Street Scene said: “Fly-tipping is unacceptable in any circumstances. I’d like to thank my colleagues for their skill and determination in securing this conviction. We will continue to work hard to track down offenders and bring them to justice.”