This is the moment a fly-tipping couple dumped piles of rubbish on a country road – before claiming they didn’t know it was illegal.
CCTV cameras installed along a rural lane near Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire captured the pair dumping cardboard, plastic and spoiled food on two separate occasions.
The dim-witted duo arrived in a white van and unloaded the rubbish, which was traced back to a commercial business.
Their van’s registration number was in plain view of the camera – making them easy to identify.
They were quickly traced by Wiltshire Council’s environmental enforcement officers, who asked them to explain their actions.
But the couple, from Swindon, claimed to be unaware that it was illegal to dump their waste in this way.
It didn’t pass muster with Wiltshire’s enforcers, who issued them with fixed penalty notices worth £3,000 amid an ongoing war on fly-tipping in rural hotspots.
The fines have since been paid in full. The couple’s identities have not been disclosed.
Wiltshire Council says it has also recently fined a man £1,000 after removing bags from his car and leaving them behind. He claimed he forgot them by accident after taking a cigarette break.
This was the moment a couple dumped a van-load of rubbish at the side of a road in rural Wiltshire – unaware they had been captured on covert CCTV
They arrived in a van with a clearly visible number plate – making them easy to trace by Wiltshire council enforcement officers
The wastes was a combination of cardboard, plastic and spoiled food – all traced back to a commercial business
Another said he had dumped rubbish because he couldn’t book a slot at the local recycling centre.
But Cllr Martin Smith, the council’s cabinet member for highways, street scene and flooding, said there was no excuse.
‘Fly-tipping is not only unsightly, it is also illegal and we are committed to tackling those who choose to dump their waste in this way,’ he said.
‘Anyone caught fly-tipping can be ordered to pay a £1,000 fixed penalty notice or be taken to court, where they could face an unlimited fine or imprisonment.
‘As part of our We’re Targeting Fly-tippers campaign in Wiltshire, we not only fine or prosecute offenders but also to educate people in the correct way to dispose of their waste.
‘In this case, the business owners should dispose of their waste through registered waste carriers.’
It comes after another fly-tipper who dumped a bed at the side of a road was fined thousands of pounds after being caught red-handed.
Litterbug Naiffisa Abba was snapped leaving the bedroom fixture and other trash at a notorious fly-tipping spot in Queensbury Park, north-west London.
In the images, released by Brent Council, Abba can be seen struggling to haul the single divan base across the road before lobbing it next to bags of rubbish.
The litter lout’s actions, captured on camera in March 2024, have now seen him hit with a £4,600 fine.
Litterbug Naiffisa Abba was snapped leaving the bed and other trash at a notorious fly-tipping spot in Queensbury Park, north-west London
Abba, of Wembley, is seen dumping the trash on camera. He has now been fined £4,600
Abbas, of Wembley, was convicted at Willesden Magistrates’ Court, where a judge slapped him with a further £2,000 to the initial penalty because he failed to attend his hearing.
The prosecution is part of a major clampdown by Brent Council on fly-tippers, who have been blighting the streets in recent years.
London continues to be gripped with a fly-tipping epidemic – while England faces its biggest illegal dumping crisis in 20 years.
Bosses at Brent say they ‘won’t accept’ fly-tippers, with council chiefs insisting they have ‘ramped up’ efforts to bring ‘selfish’ crooks to justice.
Its campaign, dubbed ‘Don’t Mess With Brent’, has seen a number of secret cameras installed at known hotspots, which are being used to catch litterbugs.
So far, the effort has led to the council issuing 30 per cent more fines as a result.
As well as installing covert surveillance, more enforcement officers have been deployed to patrol the streets.
Offenders are hit with £1,000 fines if officers uncover evidence of them being behind the fly-tipping, with the council warning crooks: ‘We will catch you.’
The crackdown was launched in 2024, with Brent declaring it would wage war on ‘selfish litter louts’ who had blighted the borough – which saw 35,000 reported cases between 2022-2023.
The local authority added the crime costs it in the region of £1.5million to deal with each year.
