A SERIAL fly-tipper who was convicted of offences last year has been prosecuted again for waste crime.

Dorset Council said Dominic Adrian Woods, 33, pleaded guilty to a charge of fly-tipping at Weymouth Magistrates Court this month and was given a suspended sentence of four weeks, on condition that he commit no further offences during the next 12 months. He was ordered to pay £115 victim surcharge, £100 costs and made subject of a Criminal Behaviour Order for 5 years.

The order means he cannot be involved in any business which involves collecting, transporting, depositing, storing or processing controlled waste from any residential, commercial or business premises of which he is not the owner or occupier for five years. This is the first time that the council have sought a Criminal Behaviour Order for waste crime.

The council said Woods, together with another man, owned and operated a business called RightWey Man and Van Services. In June 2019 they undertook garden clearance at a home in Christchurch for which a resident paid £150 for, and was issued with a Duty of Care Waste Transfer Note.

They returned to complete more work a few days later, this time removing concrete paving slabs, tarmac and other construction waste. Again, the householder paid £150, but no Duty of Care Waste Transfer Note was issued.

The householder’s construction waste, instead of being taken to a licensed site for disposal, was dumped in a hedged area on private land at Coldharbour, Chickerell. There was no permit for waste disposal at this site.

The investigation started after an enforcement officer from Dorset Waste Partnership received a tip-off about a video circulating on social media showing Woods, in control of a tipper vehicle, dumping a large amount of construction waste in the Coldharbour area.

Following a visit to the sitein July, officers met the landowner who stated that he had given permission to RightWey Man and Van Services to deposit waste onto his land.

He said the only restriction he had given was that the waste must not rot. There had been no payment for the deposit of waste nor paperwork issued.

He also confirmed that he had no Environmental Permit or Waste Exemption in place.

During the investigation the vehicle used in the offences was seized. Despite issuing a Notice of Return for the vehicle, it was not claimed and has since been disposed of.

The Echo reported last year how Woods was convicted following a trial of fly tipping offences and failing to provide waste transfer notes.

Cllr Tony Alford, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Customer, Community and Regulatory Services, said after the most recent case “Fly-tipping is a blight on our community and a drain on taxpayers’ money, so we take a firm stance when it happens. We will always pursue all avenues to hold offenders to account.

“Residents should report fly-tips to us, only use reputable businesses or individuals if they need help moving their rubbish and get a waste transfer note when handing items to someone else to dispose of.

“They risk prosecution and a criminal record if their waste is fly-tipped and they are unable to show they took reasonable steps to prevent it.”