Waste crackdown sees five fined and vehicle seized

The council said it had at least one incident of fly-tipping reported to it each day

A crackdown on illegal waste carriers saw five people fined, one vehicle seized and a man admit to operating for 25 years without a licence.

Newark and Sherwood District Council and Nottinghamshire Police carried out the operation last week.

Vehicles carrying waste were stopped and documents inspected, with one being found to have no MOT.

The council said licences protect the environment, communities and legitimate businesses.

Court cases

The authority and police were joined by staff from the Environment Agency and The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Roger Jackson, from the district council, said: "Fly-tipping blights our community and cracking down on those who don't have the correct waste licences is extremely important in the fight to reduce cases of waste being illegally dumped.

"Operations such as this are not only done to benefit the environment and local community, they are also important for residents who do abide by the law by attaining the correct waste licences, and who may be unfairly undercut by those who do not."

Officials said at least one fly-tip was reported every day, and since January the authority had issued 138 fixed penalty notices and had successfully prosecuted two offenders in court, with a further 11 cases awaiting a court date.