A serial fly-tipper who broke the law by dumping masses of household waste including chairs, furniture, children’s toys and golf clubs in the Hertfordshire countryside after charging people to get rid of it has been jailed for 10 months.
Gilham, who now lives in Bryanstone Road in Waltham Cross, committed the five offences between January and April 2016 while operating an illegal waste disposal business without the necessary environmental permit.
He dumped household waste on farm land in Benington; chairs, furniture, children’s toys and various other items in Ashwell Road, Bygrave; planks of wood and other items of waste between Halls Green and Warrens Green in Weston; golf clubs, plasterboard, wood and other items in Bygrave Road, Ashwell and a barbecue, a wooden door, black sacks and other items at Tye End Garage Compound.
The case was originally brought before Stevenage Magistrates Court in March by Mr James Ellis, prosecuting for North Hertfordshire District Council who also acted on behalf of Stevenage Borough Council and East Herts Council.
But Gilham originally denied the offences meaning the matter was sent to the Cambridge Crown Court for trial.
Following months of trial preparation, Gilham decided to change his plea to guilty and was sentenced last Thursday.
The judge, His Honour Judge Farrell QC, said that the sentence would have been 12 months but reduced it to 10 in light of Gilham’s guilty plea.
As part of the Herts Fly-tipping Group all local councils in Hertfordshire work together to prosecute fly-tippers.
Councillor Bernard Lovewell, NHDC’s executive member for housing and environmental health, said after the sentencing: “Local residents have made it clear to us how disgusted they are with this sort of behaviour, so it’s good news that this man will go to prison for his actions.
“It sends out a strong message to other would-be fly-tippers that we will not tolerate this behaviour. “If you’re a householder considering paying people like Mr Gilham to do house clearances on the cheap – think again and stop. You have a responsibility to dispose of your waste properly - if you don’t you could find yourself in court too.”
Councillor Jackie Hollywell, Stevenage Borough Council’s executive member for communities, community safety and equality, added: “This successful prosecution is down to hard work by council teams across the county, working together to collect evidence. It shows our determination to cut fly-tipping and ensure anyone who dumps waste in our area is brought to justice.”
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