Leighton Buzzard man caught fly-tipping in Great Brickhill stream by horse rider with helmet camera

A Leighton Buzzard van driver was caught fly-tipping in Great Brickhill by a horse rider with a helmet camera.

Paul Bond, 46, of Harrow Road, was prosecuted at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on October 12 and fined £200, while he also had to pay £538 in prosecution costs.

Video footage shows Bond being approached by three female horse riders, who spotted him dumping black bin bags into a stream.

But the horse riders made sure Bond put the bin bags back into his van, while Bond later said his actions were "deeply out of character" and that he was "remorseful".

A Buckinghamshire Council spokesman said: "He [Bond] was prosecuted at court – despite having picked the waste up himself – due to the facts that there was potential for environmental harm in what he did and if he hadn’t been witnessed the waste would have remained where it was, and quite possibly without anyone knowing.

"The fly-tipping incident he was fined for involved several black bin bags which were witnessed to be illegally dumped into a drainage ditch/stream that ran beside Partridge Hill.

"The ditch is near a sharp bend in the road, and any obstruction could allow the road to flood at a dangerous location."

At 11.30am on July 15, the witnesses were riding their horses in Partridge Hill.

As they came round a bend travelling towards The Three Locks pub, the leading rider saw a van parked on the grass verge.

The spokesman said: "She saw a male at the front of the van throw a black bin bag into the stream. She challenged him, saying that he was fly-tipping.

"The witness at the rear of the three had a camera mounted on her helmet which was filming for their safety.

"This footage showed a male, who had by the time she reached him moved to the rear of the van, and he was filmed recovering at least six black bin liners from the stream and replacing them in the van, the man then drove off."

On looking at the footage the witness noted the vehicle registration index and reported the incident.

Buckinghamshire Council’s Fly-tipping Enforcement Team then investigated and traced the vehicle, with the assistance of Thames Valley Police.

The spokesman said: "At PACE interview the van owner fully admitted the offence, stating he panicked when he had been informed that he had just been told he was not allowed to dump the waste in a bin at Leighton Buzzard, as arranged. He said he needed the van for another job.

"He said the dumping of the waste was completely out of character and that he was deeply ashamed."

Gareth Williams, Buckinghamshire Council's Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “I wish to thank the horse riders who witnessed and recorded this fly-tipping incident. They were rightly upset to see someone dumping waste in a country lane.

“We certainly don’t expect anyone to confront fly-tippers, but we would ask witnesses to provide the vehicle registration to us so we can investigate.

“People can report fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire to us online by visiting FixMyStreet. However, rubbish on private land is the landowner’s responsibility. If you see fly-tipping on private land, then please report this to the landowner.”