David Boorman and Craig Bowcott used a hire vehicle and false identity to dupe customers
Two friends from Herefordshire have been fined for illegally disposing of waste during the coronavirus pandemic in October 2020, in a case heard at Kidderminster Magistrates’ Court by Herefordshire Council’s Community Protection Team.
Mr David Boorman (40), of Elton Drive, Ledbury, appeared at Hereford Magistrates court on 25 January 2022, where he pleaded guilty to six charges of fly tipping and failing to secure the transfer of waste to an authorised person.
Craig Bowcott (42), of Woodward Avenue, Hereford, failed to appear at this hearing and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bowcott was arrested by police on 3 August 2023, held in custody and transferred to Kidderminster magistrate’s court on 4 August 2023, where he also pleaded guilty to six charges of fly tipping and securing the transfer of waste to an authorised person.
Both courts heard how in October 2020, Bowcott hired a vehicle from a local rental company during the same time period in which waste collection adverts appeared on Facebook under a false name. Officers of Herefordshire Council’s community protection team linked the false profile to Boorman and Bowcott and conducted a thorough investigation.
Officers used vehicle tracking to trace journeys undertaken by the pair, where regular journeys to a storage unit in Malvern were found. Officers discovered a storage container rented in Bowcott’s name which was full of household waste and collected from households around Herefordshire. Waste was also found dumped around and on top of the container.
Boorman and Bowcott did not pay their storage bill and did not return to collect the waste. Further waste was found dumped in a gateway in Sellack, which officers searched through and found more evidence of a waste collection undertaken by Boorman and Bowcott.
Boorman was given a 10 week community order with the requirement that he wear an electronic tag between the hours of 7pm and 7am, ordered to pay clean-up costs of £1,032 and a victim surcharge of £95, while Bowcott received a fine of £369, was ordered to pay £400 towards costs and also given a victim surcharge of £37.00.
Marc Willimont, Head of Public Protection said:“Cases like this demonstrate how our enforcement officers leave no stone unturned in an investigation and never give up on a fly tipper prosecution, even when it took nearly 18 months to bring the second offender to justice. Needless to say, Herefordshire has a zero tolerance for this sort of anti-social behaviour and will always prosecute fly tippers.”
The maximum penalty for fly tipping is a £50,000 fine and/or 5 years imprisonment.
All householders have a duty of care to ensure that the waste they produce is disposed of correctly and they have documentation to show who they have transferred the waste to and keep those records for at least 2 years.
Residents can report fly tipping to Herefordshire Council’s Community Protection Team by calling 01432 261761 or online at www.herefordshire.gov.uk/flytipping
