A licensed waste carrier has been sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work after he dumped 30 bags of building waste.

Samuel Boca, 23, of Bransgrove Road, Edgware, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to eight charges after he dumped rubbish in Hilfield Lane South in Bushey and Bridleway 71 in Radlett.

He was sentenced yesterday at St Albans Magistrates Court.

Boca admitted providing a man from Finchley with a receipt containing a false name, telephone number and the name of a legitimate recycling firm in Cheshire, with which he had no association, when he collected waste from him.

He was recorded by Hertsmere Borough Council cameras in a Peugeot panel van with the name of a German company on the side as he dumped the waste on January 20.

In addition to the unpaid work, Boca was also ordered to pay £250 for each of six duty of care offences, a victim surcharge of £150 and pay the council’s £3,514 costs.

The van was seized and destroyed by the council.

Credit: Hertsmere Borough Council

Councillor Seamus Quilty, responsible for the environment, said: “This case shows that the council will pursue offenders responsible for dumping waste and I’m pleased that Boca will no longer be able to leave building waste in public areas with all the problems that can cause.

“In consequence, it is of paramount importance to send a clear message to offenders that it is wholly unacceptable to knowingly harm the environment with no consideration for the impact on the wider community.

“In the current economic climate, where local authorities must continue to find efficiency savings in essential frontline services, the irresponsible and unlawful disposal of waste diverts valuable resources from the delivery of these services.”

The cost of conducting the investigation was £1,838, while the cost of clearing the waste was £862.

The total cost of investigating and removing fly tipping within Hertsmere in 2017 was £135,000.

Across Hertfordshire, the number of reported incidents involving fly-tipping fell by 2,731 in 2017/18, which represented a 17.9 per cent reduction on 2016/17.

Provisional figures for April 2018 also indicate further reductions.