On Friday 5 April at Redhill Magistrates’ Court, Ovidiu Vlad, formerly of Swingate Lane, London SE18 2DB was found guilty of flytipping and fined £1000, as well as £250 for failing to respond to a S71 Notice, ordered to pay the Council’s costs of £1400 and £120 to the victim support fund. As Vlad had used a vehicle in the commissioning of an offence, he was also disqualified from driving for six months.
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In January 2012 witnesses saw two men in a van flytip two fridges in Buxton Lane, Caterham and made a note of the registration number. A third witness also saw the men with the fridges. The fridge motors, the most valuable component in scrap terms, had been removed. This would have resulted in the escape of refrigerant and possible environmental damage.
Tandridge Council’s Waste Enforcement Officer contacted Ovidiu Vlad, who was the registered owner of the van and served a S71 Notice asking for the details of the person driving the vehicle on 25 January 2012. While the notice was returned within the required time (seven days), the information had not been provided.
On 17 February Mr Vlad attended an interview under caution, where he accepted he was driving the vehicle on the day and stopped where the witnesses reported the dumping of the fridges. He denied depositing the fridges. The Council decided to prosecute him for flytipping and for failing to complete the Notice.
Paul Barton, Deputy Director of Community Services, said: “We would like to thank the witnesses for their help in this case, without them it would have been harder to trace Mr Vlad. Flytipping is an offence and we will prosecute.”
