A Hitchin car sales firm has been hit with a bill for almost £4,000 after pleading guilty to a ‘duty of care’ offence which led to fly-tipping in a country lane on the edge of Letchworth.

Hermes Collection Ltd – based in Hitchin’s Station Approach, and trading as Hermes Prestige Cars – appeared before Stevenage magistrates on Friday and admitted not taking all reasonable steps to ensure waste was disposed of legally.

As a result, the firm’s waste – unbeknown to them – was fly-tipped on the Letchworth Greenway, off Willian Road, last June in breach of section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

North Herts District Council’s environmental crime officers had investigated after receiving reports about the large fly-tip – which comprised builder’s waste, wood, plaster, paint tins, buckets, cardboard boxes, packaging, food waste and commercial signage.

Discovered amid the rubbish was correspondence addressed to Hermes Collection Ltd and the company director Serichan Ucer, both at the same address.

The district council said that when contacted Mr Ucur failed to complete caution questionnaires sent to him, and failed to attend an interview under caution – prompting NHDC to prosecute.

Hermes Collection Ltd was fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £765.74 and £170 surcharge – a total bill of £3,935.74.

District council housing head Andy Godman said: “Businesses have a duty of care to dispose of their waste in a legal, safe and responsible manner.

“Fly-tipping business waste is completely unacceptable and we will prosecute any businesses we find illegally dumping their waste in North Hertfordshire.”

For more about how to legally dispose of commercial waste and recycling, go to north-herts.gov.uk/home/waste-and-recycling/commercial-waste-and-recycling-services.