South Tyneside Man Jailed Following Fly Tip

A man has been jailed following a fly tipping incident in a popular South Tyneside park.

Michael Kerrigan, of St Cuthbert's Avenue, South Shields, was sentenced to eight weeks in prison by magistrates earlier this week.

The court heard how a substantial amount of waste, including bags of bricks, rubble and wood, was dumped illegally in Jubilee Wood in Jarrow on 5 June last year.

Environmental enforcement officers found documentation among the dumped items in the name of a resident who had paid Kerrigan £90 in good faith to dispose of the rubbish, believing him to be licensed to do so.

This subsequently led to them being able to identify Kerrigan and the vehicle used to transport the waste.

The Council took legal action after the 46-year-old failed to make himself available to answer questions about the incident. He also committed an offence under Section 33(1a) of the Environment Protection Act 1990 by illegally depositing waste.

South Tyneside Magistrates also ordered him to pay £150 compensation, and his vehicle will be seized.

A spokesperson for South Tyneside Council said: "Kerrigan dumped this waste in a natural beauty spot after an innocent householder paid him to take away rubbish.

"He committed this offence whilst on licence, and magistrates have imposed some very heavy penalties in recognition of this.

"As this case has proved, we will always investigate environmental crimes, and where we can identify offenders, will take all action available to us.

"Members of the public can help by being our eyes and ears and reporting any incidents to the council so we can investigate."

The Council spends more than £2m a year keeping the Borough clean and tidy and the illegal disposal of waste places an additional burden on taxpayers.

To report fly-tipping contact South Tyneside Council's Customer Contact Centre on (0191) 427 7000. All calls will be treated in the strictest confidence. Alternatively you can report it online via the Council's website at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/reportit.

Further information about the safe and responsible disposal of waste can also be found at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling.