Local Woman Fined for Fly-Tipping

Sophie Giles a resident of Gurnos who dumped and burnt waste near a playground, has been ordered to pay £1190 in fines and costs after information relating to her was found during investigations into two fly tipping incidents at Birch Grove and one at the Pen Y Dre Underpass.

Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council officers found information in the waste relating to Ms Giles during investigations in November 2018 and April 2019.

At Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on 27^th November 2019 she was fined £360 and ordered to pay costs of £800 and a victim surcharge of £30.

Ms Giles accepted responsibility for all three fly tipping events, she admitted to dumping and burning waste at Birch Grove and, in relation to the Pen Y Dre underpass incident, she told the courts that she had paid a local resident to take the waste away, but had failed to check where the waste was going or that he was an authorised waste carrier.

Robert Barnett, Neighbourhood Services Street Scene Manager, said: “This prosecution highlights that we do not tolerate fly tipping and will not hesitate to take action to protect our environment against it. 

“We strongly advise that householders check who they use to get rid of their waste; they have a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of correctly and can be prosecuted for hiring someone without doing any proper checks as to where their waste is going to end up.”