A Huntingdonshire builder has been ordered to pay more than £700, after allowing a van driver who he had not checked was registered, to take waste away from a home he was refurbishing. It was later dumped in a bridleway.

Malcolm Boyle, 51, of High Street, Toseland, pleaded guilty to failing to take reasonable measures to secure that the transfer of waste was to an authorised person at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, March 12.

He had let the driver who he did not know remove the rubbish from a home in Toseland he was working on.

At the end of last year, two large bags of builders’ waste were reported to South Cambridgeshire District Council as they had been left in Haven Drive, a bridleway at the end of Schole Road, Willingham.

Council enforcement officers traced the waste back to Boyle who admitted to paying someone in an unmarked van £40 cash to take the waste away.

He claimed he was unaware of his duty of care under the Environmental Health Protection Act.

In court he apologised and accepted the punishment of a £185 fine, £560 in costs to South Cambridgeshire District Council and a victim surcharge of £20.

Cllr Mick Martin, South Cambridgeshire District Council’s cabinet member for environmental services, said: “We constantly remind people that it is their responsibility to make sure waste is disposed of correctly.

“As a rule of thumb, if the deal being offered sounds too good to be true it probably is, and you could find yourself paying the price in the long run.

“People in South Cambridgeshire hate fly-tipping and we will continue to take action against people who think it is acceptable to carry out this practice.”

A spokesman for South Cambridgeshire District Council said it is reiterating the need for residents to make sure that they use authorised waste carriers, registered with the Environment Agency, to dispose of rubbish.

Huntingdonshire District Council also issued a warning recently for residents to be aware of the practice and to make a note of the traders’ name, and if possible, their vehicle registration number so that they can be traced if the waste is found fly-tipped.

Many of these traders promote their services via social media and on leaflets posted through residents’ doors.

INFORMATION: Anyone who charges a fee to take waste away must be registered with the Environment Agency who will issue them with a Waste Carrier Licence. To check for licensed traders call 08708 506506 or visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk and search the public register for waste carriers. If you see someone fly-tipping, call police on 999. To report waste that has been fly-tipped visit www.scambs.gov.uk or www.huntingdonshire.gov.uk, click on the ‘report it’ button and follow the link.