WINCHESTER City Council has secured its second successful fly-tipping prosecution in less than two months.

Patrick Stokes, from Micheldever, has been convicted for fly-tipping waste in East Stratton. Stokes, 45, of Carousel Park, was ordered to pay costs of £2,245 at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Thursday, January 4.

He pleaded guilty to controlling the use of his pick-up truck during a fly-tipping offence after the dumping of roofing and builder’s waste was witnessed in Embley Wood Lane in October 2022 by officers from the council’s Environmental Services team. 

Stokes, the owner and insured person of the vehicle at the time, denied carrying out the fly-tipping himself but failed to name any other individual who had used the pick-up truck.

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Hampshire Chronicle: The fly-tip in Embley Wood LaneThe fly-tip in Embley Wood Lane (Image: Winchester City Council)

The court ordered him to pay a fine of £650, prosecution costs of £1,335 and a victim surcharge of £260, totalling £2,245 and the offence will go on his criminal record.

Cllr Kelsie Learney, Winchester City Council cabinet member for the climate emergency, said: “This is the second successful prosecution by Winchester City Council in the past two months and reinforces our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping across our district. 

“Fly-tipping damages our local environment including our rural communities, and causes untold harm to the environment and wildlife, whilst encouraging pests and vermin. We will look to prosecute wherever appropriate and continue to ask for the help of the public as witnesses as we pursue the perpetrators of crimes of this nature.”  

The city council is appealing to anyone who witnesses fly-tipping, or who may have video evidence of someone fly-tipping, to report it online at winchester.gov.uk/waste-recycling/flytipping or contact the Customer Services Team on 0300 300 0013.