A fly-tipper who illegally dumped rubbish on three separate occasions in remote areas of Basingstoke has been given community service and ordered to pay £1,901.20.

James Ian Christopher of South Ham Road, Basingstoke was convicted after pleading guilty to all three fly-tipping offences brought by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 13 February.

The court heard how the 34-year-old was caught on a CCTV on 18 April 2019 and 6 May 2019 at the same location in a remote part of Sherborne St John dumping full transit van loads of household waste and green waste.

On 1 August 2019 two members of the public also witnessed Christopher dumping a three-seater sofa on a byway off Greywell Road in the Mapledurwell area. The witnesses reported the incident to the council for investigation.

Christopher was interviewed at Basingstoke Police Investigation Centre as part of the council investigation where he claimed that he had used his friend’s vans to dump waste from his own house on all three occasions. He denied that there was any financial gain or commercial element involved in the incidents. He confirmed he did not have an Environmental Permit to lawfully deposit the waste at the two locations involved.

At the hearing, magistrates sentenced Christopher to a 12-month community service punishment order, requiring him to complete 100 hours of supervised, unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,272.20 investigation and prosecution costs, a £90 victim surcharge and £539 in compensation to the council for the clean-up costs. Christopher was given credit for a guilty plea.

Leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council Cllr Ken Rhatigan said: “We take a zero tolerance approachtowards fly-tipping and have convicted 16 individuals for fly-tipping offences since May 2018.

“This case acts as a suitable reminder to all would-be fly-tippers that there are surveillance cameras operating across the borough, as well as people who will witness these incidents.

“We are seeing more and more witnesses coming forward to support our prosecutions and this is very positive. Witnesses are crucial and we encourage people to report these offences by calling 01256 844844 or visiting www.basingstoke.gov.uk/flytipping to assist our investigations and to stamp out this crime.”