Florin Arsene, a 31 year old man from West Drayton, appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court on June 15 for sentencing, having pleaded guilty to two offences of fly-tipping at an earlier hearing.

The court was told that in the early hours of July 10 2016, Mr Arsene was filmed by a hidden camera installed by investigators from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire. Images were taken of him dumping a van load of asbestos on the M40 emergency vehicle turn around ramp.

When interviewed at Hounslow Police Station, Mr Arsene admitted depositing this waste and a second offence on the other side of the motorway where green waste was dumped on August 9.

Judge Francis Sheridan sentenced Mr Arsene to four months’ custodial sentence suspended for two years. He was fined £3,000 for the first offence and for the second offence he was fined £2,000. Costs of £4,984.50 were awarded for the clear up and investigation.

Mr Arsene was additionally disqualified from driving for four months for using a vehicle in connection to a crime under s146 of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act 2000. A victim surcharge was also applied. During sentencing the judge dismissed Mr Arsene’s claim that he didn’t realise he was doing anything wrong.

Bill Chapple, Buckinghamshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Planning & Environment, said:

“The site of this offence is isolated, the offender struck in the dead of night and took steps to avoid being seen – but still our cameras were able to film the offence taking place and allow him to be identified.

The sentence handed down in this case shows that there is no tolerance for this type of behaviour, and perpetrators should be aware that we will pursue them whenever possible – one offence may be all that’s needed to land you in court.

I’d also like to remind the community to remain vigilant – if you see anyone fly tipping, take down the licence number and let us know online or through the hotline.”

The case was prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.  The Waste Partnership launched the ‘Illegal Dumping Costs‘ campaign in November 2003 to combat illegal dumping and waste management offences in Buckinghamshire.

Since that date the Partnership has secured 588 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and related offences.  On average since April 2010, there has been at least one conviction per week for illegal dumping offences in Buckinghamshire.

This has resulted in a halving of reported incidents and a significant saving to the Bucks tax payer over the period, principally through reducing removal and disposal costs.

You can report fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire here or by calling the hotline on 0845 330 1856.