A man from High Wycombe has been slapped with a fine after dumping household waste on farmland in Bledlow.

Daniel Patrick Free, 30, of Hithercroft Road pleaded guilty at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court on July 21 to an offence of dumping household waste illegally.

The court heard that on February 8 this year an employee at The Carington Estate discovered rubbish in sacks, plastic items and furniture discarded on the estate’s farmland off the Upper Icknield Way bridleway in Wigans Lane.

The employee found evidence among the waste that could be traced to Free – who was subsequently interviewed at a police station.

His defence was that he had been working nearby and saw similar waste being burned in the field by a farmer, so thought “it would not be a problem” if he added his own rubbish to the pile for burning.

He admitted he did not think to take his rubbish to the nearby Bledlow Ridge Household Rescycling Centre and the waste he added to the fire were different from the wood being burned by the farmer.

Free’s waste was not burnt, but removed and disposed of properly by The Carington Estate.

He was fined £680, ordered to pay prosecution costs of £750 and victim surcharge of £68 was also levied – bringing the total to £1,498.

Wycombe District Council member for environment, Julia Adey, said: “This kind of thoughtless dumping is so unnecessary when Household Recycling Centres are provided by Buckinghamshire County Council across the county - one of which is just down the road from this incident.

“There isn't any charge at the centres to householders dealing with their own household waste, such as the man prosecuted in this case.

“The Waste Partnership will seek to prosecute cases such as this whenever possible."

The case was investigated and prosecuted by Buckinghamshire County Council working on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire

Dumped waste can be reported to http://old.buckscc.gov.uk/fly