A plumber from High Wycombe has been fined more than £1,000 after waste dumped in Marlow Bottom was traced back to him.

Robert Woodley, 33, of Pheasant Drive, was caught after officers found items in the waste, dumped in Wycombe Road, which were traced back to plumbing work carried out by him.

Woodley denied having dumped the rubbish himself, saying he had been approached by unknown men of Middle Eastern appearance driving a Vauxhall Combo van while he was working at an address in Marlow.

He told police the men tried to take (copper scrap from his work at the property without permission.

After a “confrontation”, Woodley agreed to allow them to remove the scrap, but he insisted that the men first take his general waste.

The waste items included cardboard and plastic packaging, a breeze block and plumbing waste, which Woodley identified in photographs as that waste which had been taken by the unknown men.

He admitted that he had not identified the men adequately, had not checked that they were authorised to remove the waste and had not insisted on receiving a lawful waste transfer note as a receipt.

He pleaded guilty at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on September 6 to an offence of failing in his duty of care under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 regarding the waste which was found illegally dumped.

He was fined £461 and ordered to pay £457 of clean-up and prosecution costs, as well as a victim surcharge of £46 and a £50 compensation order for clean-up, making the total £1,014.

Wycombe District Council’s cabinet member for environment Julia Adey, speaking on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: “The authorities in Buckinghamshire have consistently taken enforcement action where people have transferred waste to ‘a man with a van’ without taking the measures required by the Duty of Care law.

“You should identify the person properly, check they are a registered waste carrier, and obtain a waste transfer note from them.

“Please do all you can to avoid your waste being fly-tipped – otherwise you're risking a conviction and a considerable fine.”