Man fined for dumping waste in woodland - The Evesham Observer

Man fined for dumping waste in woodland

Evesham Editorial 10th Apr, 2015 Updated: 20th Oct, 2016   0

A MAN who dumped a large pile of household waste, including a giant teddy bear, in woodland near Pershore has been ordered to pay almost £1,000 in fines and costs.

Steven Biddle, 22 of Open Fields, Bromyard in Herefordshire, was successfully prosecuted by Wychavon District Council after pleading guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on April 2 to breaching section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Officers at Wychavon began investigating after reports of rubbish dumped at Millennium Woods at Stoulton in July last year.

When they visited the site they found three separate piles of waste containing items including storage units, tools, parts of a bed, boxes of paperwork, a mattress and a giant teddy bear.




Some of the paperwork contained personal details which led officers to a woman living at an address in Leominster.

When interviewed she said she was in the process of moving house and needed a large amount of rubbish disposed of and had found Biddle on Facebook, who had been advertising his waste removal services.


She agreed with him the waste would be removed for £55. However rather than dispose of the waste properly, Biddle dumped it, the court heard.

Mark Sheward, defending, told the court Biddle was unemployed but moved rubbish for friends and their friends.

He added Biddle had intended to dispose of the waste properly but had received a call from a family member who was ill and dumped the rubbish so he could rush off to hospital to visit them.

His only income was £50 a week he got for caring for his uncle. He said Biddle took full responsibility for his actions, had never done it before and would not do so again.

Magistrates fined Biddle £183, ordered him to pay a £20 victim surcharge and £765 in costs, which must be repaid at £10 a week.

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