Prison for ‘Prolific’ Fly Tipper
It’s chokey for Malcolm the fly-tipper. Tower Hamlets Council has reported the sentencing of Malcolm Regan – a man it describes as one of the UK’s most prolific fly-tippers – to four months’ imprisonment for his misdeeds. The 44-year old Mile End man appeared in Blackfriars Crown Court on August 9 along with accomplices Michael Briggs and Anthony Gustave.
According to the council, Regan led a gang of fly-tippers for more than half a decade. “He coordinated a sophisticated operation in which huge numbers of tyres were illegally dumped in Tower Hamlets, Newham and the surrounding areas. The dumping cost more than one million pounds to clean up and caused major fire and pollution hazards,” Tower Hamlets Council noted.
The council’s Local Environment Teams worked closely with their counterparts in Newham, Islington and the Environment Agency to gather evidence on Regan’s fly-tipping activities. Using CCTV they were able to trace vehicles that dumped the tyres back to him. Councillor Shahed Ali, lead member for the Environment at Tower Hamlets Council, applauded the partnership work that brought Regan to justice. “Fly-tipping is a blight on the environment and cost taxpayers thousands of pounds a year to clean up,” he said. “We want people like Regan to know that Tower Hamlets is a no-go zone for fly-tippers, as we’ll pull out all of the stops to track them down and prosecute them.”
Judge David Martineau handed Briggs, 29 and Gustave suspended sentences after they each admitted two counts of depositing controlled waste on 20 May and 21 May, last year. In addition to these suspended sentences Briggs was ordered to carry out 120 hours’ unpaid work and to pay £250 costs and Gustave was told to keep to a four-month curfew between 8pm and 6am.
Regan was given a 10 year ASBO in February this year, banning him from transporting controlled waste, including tyres, anywhere in England and Wales until 2020. At a hearing at the Stratford Magistrates’ Court on 25 February, when Regan was given his ASBO in absentia, it was stated he would face a £5,000 fine or up to 5 years in prison for any breach of this ASBO.
Related News:
Comments