A GANG of five men who 'destroyed the environment' has been landed with a large fine after years of painstaking work from a council.

The case was brought to court after a three-month covert camera operation and investigation by Wiltshire Council’s environmental enforcement officers. 

Three of the offenders were caught fly-tipping - dumping large amounts of green waste, household waste and white goods.

Two others - Luke Edwards of Verwood Road, Wimborne and Michael Whittaker of Meadow Close, West Wellow - were prosecuted for burning a fridge. They are also directors of Romsey & Chandlers Ford Tree & Landscaping Services. 

The gang were convicted and fined £14,500 at Winchester Crown Court on November 18.
Shane Griggs of Bracken Road, North Baddesley, Jason Castle of Wellow Wood Road, West Wellow, and Daniel Whittaker of Magnolia Walk, Abbotswood were convicted of depositing controlled waste (fly-tipping) on land with no environmental permit.
Luke, Shane and Michael were all residents at the Lode Hill Traveller Site, Downton, Wiltshire at the time of the offences.

The case dates back to pre-pandemic offences, with evidence having been gathered in 2017. Local people alerted the council’s enforcement officers that the location was being used as a dumping ground and officers undertook regular monitoring of the area. It became such a hotspot for fly-tipping that magistrates approved an operation to install covert cameras along the access road.

Environmental enforcement officers spent hours going through the footage to catch the fly-tippers in action. Council officers then joined officers from Wiltshire Police to arrest the offenders.

Councillor Mark McClelland, cabinet member for waste, said: “This organised fly-tipping gang was prolific in destroying the local environment in this area. Not only were they avoiding lawful disposal costs by dumping this and not using approved waste sites, but they were also damaging the surrounding areas by burning waste including white goods, which gave off poisonous fumes.

“This successful prosecution is the result of many years of painstaking work by our environmental enforcement team. The team was tenacious in its pursuit of this gang, who claimed to have no involvement at the time. However, our ability to apprehend offenders by utilising cameras was key in proving that these people were the culprits.
“Our message to any potential fly-tippers is clear: we will prosecute anyone who thinks it is acceptable to dump their waste in our county.”