Two fined after rat infestation, waste burning and fly-tipping incidents in South Tyneside

South Tyneside Magistrates Court heard how Stephen Pearson failed to act on a ‘Community Protection Warning Letter’ South Tyneside Council served on him in April.

The letter required him to clean up waste and dog mess accumulating in the front and back gardens of his property in South Crescent in Boldon Colliery, as well as to stop burning waste and deal with a rat infestation, following local complaints.

When the letter was ignored, in May the council served a Community Protection Notice under the Antisocial Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

The court heard the situation had worsened by the time a further inspection was carried out by council officers later that month.

The 58-year-old was prosecuted for breaching the Community Protection Notice. In his absence, he was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay £200 costs and a victim surcharge of £34.

In another case, Magistrates heard how Ronald Bell, of Trinity Walk, South Shields, had his small white van seized by the council in relation to old furniture being illegally abandoned in a factory unit skip at Royal Industrial Estate in Jarrow in January 2020.

The court heard how the vehicle had been captured on CCTV and later traced to Mr Bell, who had been paid to dispose of the waste but didn’t hold a valid waste carrier’s licence.

The van was seized when Mr Bell failed to attend an interview under caution in February to answer questions about the waste. Magistrates heard he admitted being responsible for abandoning the waste in a later interview in March.

In court, the 69-year-old pleaded guilty to flytipping. Magistrates fined him £250 and ordered that he pay costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £32.

A South Tyneside Council spokesperson said: “The council spends more than £2million a year keeping the borough clean and tidy and the illegal disposal of waste places an additional burden on taxpayers.

“While we do all we can to identify those responsible, prosecution is always a last resort. Although these cases can take some time to go through the legal process, we hope this serves as a reminder that we will, and we do, take action against those who fail to comply with the notices served on them.

"Those responsible for flytipping offences also risk having their vehicles seized as well as a criminal record.

“We would always urge householders to make sure that the waste disposal services they use are legitimate and licensed. We also continue to ask people who witness an incident to collect as much information as possible. Where a vehicle is used, a description and any registration details are particularly useful in helping us to identify those responsible as has been the case here.”

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 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

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