COUNCIL TAX SCAM WARNING / FLY-TIPPER CAUGHT ON CAMERA DUMPING THREE TONNES OF WASTE GIVEN JAIL WARNING
COUNCIL TAX SCAM WARNING
Bromley council are warning residents to be vigilant regarding a scam council tax email sent to residents.
The council has received a report from a resident who has been contacted by someone posing as HMRC and offering a refund on Council Tax.
These emails are not from Bromley council and are a scam trying to get information from the recipients.
Bromley council are urging residents not to open any attachments or click on any links in such emails and report them to HMRC or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 if they receive one.
Under no circumstances should anyone give out bank details in response to this type of email.
More scams advice is available at www.bromley.gov.uk/scams (Source: Bromley council press release)
FLY-TIPPER CAUGHT ON CAMERA DUMPING THREE TONNES OF WASTE GIVEN JAIL WARNING
A fly-tipper who made national headlines after he was caught on camera dumping three tonnes of building waste has been warned he faces jail.
The fly-tipper, from Waddon was convicted after being caught on CCTV tipping rubble, wood and other building waste from his flat-bed truck as he drove at speed along Croham Manor Close, an alleyway off Campden Road in South Croydon.
He was prosecuted by Croydon council, who also seized the abandoned Ford Transit soon after the offence on 15 March last year.
A second vehicle was also seized by council officers as part of the investigation and both will be crushed by the council after sentencing.
At Camberwell Green magistrates court, he was found guilty of the Croham Manor Close offence, two other counts of fly-tipping in South Croydon and a fourth fly-tip in Thornton Heath between 12 February and 11 April 2016. He was also found guilty of failing to respond to a notice under section 108 of the Environment Act.
The court heard the man, who admitted one count of operating without a trade waste licence, claimed the waste had been dumped by someone else using duplicate number plates on both Ford Transits.
At an earlier trial hearing on 16 November, district judge Karen Hammond allowed a bad character application from the council, which included the man’s previous conviction in October 2016 for fly-tipping in Tandridge district on 12 April the same year.
The man, who defended himself in court, said he had not been allowed by the Environment Agency to hold a waste carrying licence for over 10 years.
He will be sentenced on 25 January and was told by District Judge Karen Hammond that she could not rule out a custodial sentence.
To view the video please go to Croydon.gov press releases (Source: Croydon council press release)
APPEAL FOR HELP IN CATCHING 100-METRE FLY-TIPPER
In an unrelated incident, Croydon council are calling for information to help catch the fly-tipper who dumped two tonnes of household and building waste along 100 metres of a quiet road in Purley.
The fly-tipped rubbish, from pipes and paint pots to beds and toilet bowls, was strewn along a bridleway at the end of Woodcote Park Avenue around 2.30pm on Friday 9 December.
In addition to wood, glass doors and other building materials, the fly-tip also included some distinctive items, including a small brown food waste caddy with the number 5 daubed on the front and a pair of brown leopard-print suitcases.
The wooded area is popular with local residents, dog walkers and horse riders, and the council is calling on anyone who may have seen the incident or recognises the items dumped to get in touch.
Since launching its Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign two years ago, the council has successfully prosecuted over 125 fly-tippers and litterers in the courts, including one offender sentenced to six months in prison. The campaign also combines enforcement with getting more than 300 locals to get involved in community clear-ups.
A neighbour, who had been on the bridleway minutes earlier before going indoors, heard banging noises and a vehicle being driven off before they saw the fly-tip.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It has happened before, but at night, and now they seem to be getting bolder and bolder. It has a terrible impact on the neighbourhood and everything else. It’s going to keep happening unless the people are caught and it’ll keep costing money to clear; it isn’t good for the environment and it isn’t good for the whole area.”
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader and cabinet member for Clean & Green Croydon, said: “This disgusting fly-tip in broad daylight is another example of why our Don’t Mess With Croydon campaign is so important. Witness statements have been crucial to the success of some of our most serious fly-tipping prosecutions, so we would urge anyone with information about this incident to come forward so we can find those responsible and stop them blighting our local environment.”
Anyone with information can either call the council’s fly-tip hotline on 0208 604 7000 or email [email protected]
To see a YouTube video appeal for anyone with information about the fly-tip to contact the council, visit: https://youtu.be/d_mly5qyxZw (Source: Croydon council press release)
