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A man has been fined 拢1,000 for dumping waste on private land in Raynes Park in the London Borough of Merton. It followed a trial at Wimbledon Magistrates鈥� Court on 1 July, 2021. He was also ordered to pay 拢500 costs and a 拢100 victim surcharge.

Simon O鈥橠onnell, 31, of Latimer Road, London W10 6QX, was found guilty of his part in the illegal dumping of mixed waste by a number of individuals of mixed waste. They dumped it at a site in West Barnes Lane, Raynes Park, Wimbledon, Merton.

His crime was revealed thanks to the help of a local resident who reported a group of travellers occupying private land at West Barnes Lane. This prompted an investigation by the Environment Agency.

The court heard how in May 2018 a group of men, women and children moved onto the site with caravans and trailers. They subsequently used the space as a dumping ground for illegal waste. O鈥橠onnell was identified as one of the individuals involved in the depositing of waste thanks to the efforts of the resident in question. He photographed and documented the illegal activity.

The resident observed the men on the site removing fencing to access land to dump builder鈥檚 waste. This included disused furniture, wood, plaster, used oil, metal, plastics and sacks of rubble. Photographs the resident took showed O鈥橠onnell using a Ford Transit drop-side van to deposit waste on 29 May 2018.

The travellers left the site after approximately a week. They left behind a significant quantity of waste. The clear-up and associated costs to the landowner totalled in excess of 拢100,000.

In his sentencing remarks, Deputy District Judge Bisgrove described the unlawful depositing of waste as:

A selfish, lazy and inconsiderate way of earning a living.

Daniel Kettridge, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency, said:

We hope that today鈥檚 ruling sends out a strong message that we will search out and prosecute anyone found to be dumping waste illegally.

The operation of a waste site without regard for the environment and the law have the potential to harm our natural resources. It can also blight communities and undermine the legitimate businesses that do follow the rules.

Our role is to protect the environment for people and wildlife, so we won鈥檛 hesitate to take action against those who put it risk. And to businesses flouting the rules our message is clear: you won鈥檛 get away with it.

O鈥橠onnell was prosecuted by the Environment Agency as part of Operation Angola. This is targeting criminal gangs who dump significant amounts of waste across the South East.

Further information

O鈥橠onnell was guilty of unlawfully depositing waste contrary to s.33 (1) (a) and (6) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on 29/5/18.