A man who said he did not realise he had to check the credentials of a man who took waste from his home has paid out £659 after rubbish was found dumped in High Wycombe.

Trevor Fox, 47, of Beechlands, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, pleaded guilty at Wycombe Magistrates Court last week to the offence of failing in his duty of care over waste which was later found dumped.

The court heard that in August 2014, the flytipped waste was found to the rear of the former Trades & Social Club in Queens Road, High Wycombe.

An investigator from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire examined the rubbish and found evidence to suggest where it had originated from.

During an interview with Waste Partnership investigators, Fox said that some of the dumped waste was his and that it had been removed from his home by an unknown ‘man with van’.

He said he was unaware that he was required to check that this person was a properly registered waste carrier. He had not kept contact details for him and was therefore held responsible for what happened to the waste.

Magistrates fined Fox £235 and ordered him to pay clean-up and prosecution costs of £400. A victim surcharge of £24 was also levied, making a total to pay of £659.

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

By law, householders and businesses have a ‘duty of care’ to check that anyone they commission to take away and dispose of their domestic or commercial waste is registered.

For more information on this, go to : www.buckscc.gov.uk/environment/waste,-recycling-and-treatment/fly-tipping/ Fly-tipping can be reported by uploading details, including location and photos, online or on your mobile at www.buckscc.gov.uk/fly