WHEN a Chipping Norton man dumped 12 black bags of rubbish in a lay-by in Churchill Road, he left behind evidence that led district council officers to his door.

Frank Curtis, 32, of Burford Road, had dumped bags of household waste containing soiled nappies and rotting food in the lay-by. He pleaded guilty before Banbury Magistrates' Court on Tuesday February 10. The court heard that West Oxfordshire District Council investigated the fly tip in the town in February and found evidence relating to Curtis within the waste.

He was fined £295 and ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £30.

Also at Banbury Magistrates' Court, Aaron Deakin-Harse, of Eversley Close, Chadlington, pleaded guilty to dumping commercial waste at a household recycling centre in New Street, Chipping Norton.

The bench heard that in June last year, Deakin-Harse, 25, offered to remove commercial waste for a mechanic in Chipping Norton in lieu of payment for work on his car. He took several bags of waste which included oil filters and vehicle parts and left them on the ground at the recycling centre.

He was ordered to be tagged with an electronic tag and given a curfew of 7pm to 7am between Sunday and Friday for eight weeks.

He was ordered to pay costs of £150 and a victim surcharge of £60.

Councillor David Harvey, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “These two court cases show that we take both household waste and commercial waste fly-tipping extremely seriously and will not hesitate to take court action.

“The recycling centre in New Street, Chipping Norton has been abused for a considerable time by businesses who illegally dispose of their waste there or residents who leave their waste on the ground. Businesses must arrange for a commercial waste contract to dispose of their waste. This can be done either via West Oxfordshire District Council or a commercial waste disposal company.”