A man has been fined after dozens of piles of waste were dumped in Denham – racking up a £60,000 clear-up bill for the landowner.

On November 15 Dragan Zdero, a 47-year-old builder from Woodland Gardens in Isleworth, pleaded guilty to an offence of failing in his duty of care in relation to the disposal of waste.

The court heard 95 small truckloads of waste were found in a field off Old Rectory Lane after a group of travellers left the site in March this year.

Evidence was discovered within some of the waste that was traced back to Zdero, who was then interviewed under caution by council officers at Hounslow Police Station.

During the hearing at High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court, Zdero admitted that he had paid someone who had offered to remove the waste at a site he was working at in south London, and had failed to check if he was an authorised waste carrier.

The magistrates fined Zdero £650, ordered him to pay costs incurred by Buckinghamshire County Council of £700 as well as a victim surcharge of £65.

He was also ordered to pay £653 compensation to the landowner.

South Bucks District Council cabinet member for environment, Luisa Sullivan, said: “The key to stopping this kind of commercial fly tipping is to cut off the supply of waste to the criminals who use illegal dumping as part of their day-to-day business.

"We do find that the building trade is frequently targeted by rogue waste carriers, and I'd like to remind builders that they have a duty of care to always check that a waste carrier has the right credentials, and to complete the necessary paperwork. When there's written evidence, a carrier is much less likely to dump the waste illegally."

Illegal dumping can be reported at www.fixmystreet.buckscc.gov.uk