A Redbridge man who illegally dumped large amounts of rubbish has been fined over £1,000 after neighbours helped bring him to justice.
Nicu Ilie, 31, from Seven Kings, was ordered to pay £1,254 in fines, court and council costs after he pleaded guilty to four counts of fly-tipping at Barkingside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (April 26).
He was linked to four separate fly-tipping incidents over the space of seven months in New Road - close to where he previously lived in Clandon Road.
On one occasion, he dumped dozens of planks of wood. Another time there were more than 20 full black bin bags on the pavement, and once he left behind a bunch of cardboard boxes, old children's toys and picture frames.
After three eagle-eyed local witnesses came forward to describe him and the vehicle used, Redbridge enforcement officers launched an investigation and were able to identify Ilie as the culprit.
Ilie was summonsed to court but had moved address, and also returned to Romania in the meantime
When he failed to show up at court, a warrant for his arrest was issued and, on his return to the UK in March, he was arrested.
Redbridge Council’s operational director for civic pride, Sarah Foster, said: “Dumping rubbish on the streets creates a health and safety hazard, brings our communities down and makes our neighbourhoods unpleasant, and the council will not tolerate this kind of selfish behaviour.
“This latest successful prosecution stems from local witnesses coming forward and working with our council enforcement teams to bring fly-tippers to justice and should send a clear message to potential offenders that as a community we won’t put up with people making a mess in our borough.”
The prosecution is part of a range of initiatives being deployed by the council to tackle fly-tipping - including the Redbridge Wall of Shame, a new site dedicated to identifying people caught on camera dumping their trash.
Local people are being encouraged to view the footage and share any information that could help identify the culprits.
To view the latest clips, see wallofshame.redbridge.gov.uk.
To report fly-tipping, see redbridge.gov.uk/report-it.
The council aims to clear all recorded fly-tips on its land and the highway within 24 hours of a report.
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