A 60-year-old man has been slapped with a fine after dumping a pile of chipped wood in a country lane in Denham – completely blocking the entrance to a water sports club.

Reginald Alfred Jordan of St Annes Road in Harefield pleaded guilty at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court on May 2 to dumping waste illegally.

The court heard that on June 8, 2017 the head coach at Denham Water Ski Club, in North Orbital Road, found a huge pile of tree waste had been abandoned at the main entrance of the site.

CCTV showed the vehicle used to dump the waste was damaged and the registration was identified.

Jordan was tracked down and interviewed by police, and he later admitted to dumping the waste.

He said he was suffering from depression at the time and had tried to find a number of sites to get rid of the wood chippings, however they were all closed.

Jordan apologised after he was told how dangerous his actions had been, as people who were still at the site had been blocked in.

Magistrates fined Mr Jordan £320, was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £590 as well as a victim surcharge of £32.

Cabinet member for environment at South Bucks District Council (SBDC), Luisa Sullivan, speaking on behalf of the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: “The tenacious work of the club staff was a great help in tracing the perpetrator in this case.

“Although difficult personal circumstances contributed to the man's behaviour, the dumping of material blocking the entrance to this sports club was thoughtless and potentially dangerous act, especially as people could have found themselves trapped on site."

Fly-tipping can be reported at www.buckscc.gov.uk/fly