Witness account secures another fly-tip prosecution for Winchester City Council
A Hampshire man has been ordered to pay over £4,000 following a witness account of him committing a fly-tipping offence.
Timothy James O’Keefe, aged 58 years-old and a resident of Arundel Street, Portsmouth, was found guilty by a jury following a trial at Portsmouth Crown Court on 3 October 2024.
Evidence was supplied by a passing motorist who saw Mr O’Keefe in Ashley Down Lane, Boarhunt on 28 September 2022 with distinctive bags at his car, bags which were subsequently found dumped in undergrowth a few yards away.
The case was prosecuted by Winchester City Council and Mr O’Keefe was found guilty of depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit.
The judge sentenced Mr O’Keefe to a fine of £1,000 and ordered him to pay prosecution costs of £3,000, a compensation order for clearance costs of £67.64 and a victim surcharge of £400, making a total of £4,467.64. He has also received a criminal record.
Winchester City Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance Cllr Neil Cutler said: “We are very grateful to the witness for reporting this crime – we rely on reports from the public to prosecute so I’d encourage anyone who witnesses or captures footage of someone dumping waste illegally in our district to report it, just as this motorist has done.
“This successful prosecution just goes to show how important eyewitnesses are in our mission to clamp down on fly-tipping and sends the clear message that we will not tolerate this type of environmental crime in our district.”
Reports of fly-tipping can be made on the council’s website at www.winchester.gov.uk/report, via the Your Winchester app or by calling 0300 300 0013.