A man has been stung with a £400 fine for fly-tipping after leaving out his folded up cardboard for recycling as instructed. Patrick Ward was fined by one of Torbay Council's new private enforcement team who was wearing a body camera but who allegedly refused to answer any questions.
The 55-year-old shopkeeper told Devon Live he has had his appeal turned down and his case has now been taken up by local ward councillors who have described the enforcement as 'over the top'. Mr Ward said: "It was harrowing. This guy wearing a bodycam turned up.
"He just said; 'This is the fine' while videoing me. That was almost the worst part. There is nothing quite like someone videoing you whilst issuing you with a fine, but refusing to answer any of your questions art the same time."
Mr Ward says that he has been met with a "stone wall" since trying to find out why he was fined for leaving his neatly folded cardboard out as instructed by the council at a time when recycling collections were delayed by staff shortages. Since his appeal was turned down Mr Ward said he has tried many times to get answers from the council about why he has been fined.
"I have rung Torbay Council so many times to try to get answers to questions. I tried to ask the guy with the body cam at the time but he just refused to answer any of my questions. I appealed but was told it's not a licensed area for bin disposal," he said.
Ward councillors Hazel Foster and Anne Brooks are fighting his case. Cllr Foster said: "I think the enforcement officer has been totally over the top. At that particular time the refuse bins in that area had gone three weeks with no collections. Residents were trying to do their best but we all saw it up and down the pavements - the area was generally untidy but it wasn't the residents' fault. They were old to leave it out until it was collected. This resident did everything he could to enable this."
Mr Ward contacted DevonLive in a last-ditch effort to get his fine overturned.
A Torbay Council spokesperson said: “The fixed penalty notice issued to Mr Ward by National Enforcement Solutions (NES) was the result of a video sent in by a member of the public. Mr Ward was seen, via video, leaving commercial waste behind a local authority public litter bin on council land, which is classed as fly-tipping.
“Mr Ward admitted to the offence and was issued a fixed penalty notice under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Although the waste was later removed, it is the belief of NES that had it not been for the person filming, the waste would have been left for Torbay Council to clean up as a case of fly-tipping.”
However, Mr Ward disputes that he admitted it and that the cardboard box was not commercial waste. He said: "It was the box from a B&Q shower and it was tucked behind my private recycling bin. Also, I have not admitted it - I denied it and that's why I have appealed. The person who filmed me may have thought it was commercial waste, but it wasn't."
Torbay Council announced earlier this year that it has employed a private company to crack down on fly-tippers. It said: "We are getting tough on littering and fly-tipping and have appointed a new enforcement team to clean up the Bay. The new team – from National Enforcement Solutions – have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone committing environmental crimes in Torbay. Initially they will be focusing on tackling littering, dog control, fly-tipping, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, failure to produce a waste transfer note, and not presenting domestic or commercial waste bins in the correct way at the right time."
Councillor Mike Morey, cabinet member for infrastructure, environment and culture for Torbay Council, said: “Environmental crime impacts upon the quality of our environment, reduces our pride of place and can have negative and economic impacts. People are fed up of seeing things like fly-tipping, littering and mess on the streets and this sends a message that we will not tolerate this anymore in Torbay.”
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