hree suspected fly tippers who ignored investigations have been ordered to pay a total of £4,200 following successful prosecutions by City of Wolverhampton Council.

Officers are using the latest cases to repeat a warning to anyone believed to have dumped rubbish in the city that they can’t hide from council enquiries.

In the three separate prosecutions brought by the council, Marian Bratosin, Andreea Plesca and Vasile Soare were each found guilty in their absence of one obstruction charge under section 110 of The Environment Act 1995, for failing to comply with investigating officers’ requests for assistance.

Bratosin was prosecuted after approximately 10 fridges were dumped from a vehicle into a garden in Oaklands Road on March 9, 2024. The incident was witnessed by a member of the public and Bratosin was identified by officers as the registered keeper of the vehicle.

He was required to attend the Civic Centre to assist with council investigations but failed to comply. At a hearing at Dudley Magistrates Court on June 18 this year, Bratosin, of Oaklands Road, failed to attend and was fined £400, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £160 and council costs of £733.89.

The resident who reported the incident under the council’s Shop a Tipper scheme has received a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton gift card.

In the second case, a settee, bagged and loose household waste and dismantled furniture were dumped on a footpath in Fellows Street in July last year. Council officers found evidence in the dumped items which related to a property in the road.

Plesca, of Fellows Street, was identified as being responsible for the property and was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN). But the fine was not paid and Plesca failed to contact the council. She was then served with a notice to attend the Civic Centre, which she failed to do.

Dudley Magistrates heard the case on June 18 and fined Plesca £400 in her absence with a victim surcharge of £160. The council was awarded costs of £621.60.

In the third case, a fly tipper was caught on council CCTV emptying three large bins full of waste onto a pavement in Bright Street late at night on 24 August last year.

Officers investigated and visited Soare’s property where they were told he didn’t dump the waste but that he would take responsibility and pay a fine. A FPN was issued but never paid.

At a hearing on July 23, Dudley Magistrates found Soare, of Staveley Road, guilty in his absence and fined him £440, ordered a victim surcharge of £176 and costs of £1,146.23.

In each case, the defendants’ failure to comply with the requests from the council prevented officers from furthering their investigation into who was responsible for the fly tipping. As a result, the prosecutions for obstruction were brought.
All costs awarded to the council will be reinvested back into its environmental crime service.

The recent prosecutions support ongoing work under the council’s Shop a Tipper campaign where anyone suspected of dumping rubbish will have their images shared to appeal for information to help identify them.

If the information provided leads to successful identification, and Fixed Penalty Notices are issued and paid or a prosecution takes place, residents receive a £100 Enjoy Wolverhampton Gift Card.

Residents can contact 01902 552700 with information or report online at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/fly-tipping

Councillor Bhupinder Gakhal, cabinet member for resident services at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Fly tipping is a blight on our city and it is quite clear that if we suspect you of dumping waste, we are going to use all of our powers to track you down.

“It’s really important that we bring cases like this to court. They serve as a warning to others that they can’t ignore our investigations and just hope we will go away.

“We will take all necessary measures to keep our city clean and fly tippers should be aware that we will use our CCTV, our drone, our increased fines and our successful Shop a Tipper scheme to bring them to justice.”

Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection