Serial fly-tipper's van is seized and crushed (From Croydon Guardian)

Croydon council seize and crush fly-tipper's van

9:00am Thursday 14th March 2013 in News By Andrew Bloss

A serial flytipper was dealt a crushing blow after their van was destroyed by the council last week.

The transit van was spotted by a council officer who recognised its registration number from an incident a year earlier.

It was crushed on Friday at a site in North London and the council hope it serves as a warning to those who fly tip.

Croydon Council are planning to increase the number of uniformed staff patrolling the borough from May, to help catch those who dump waste.

The move is part of the ‘Keep It Clean’ campaign which is being run jointly by the Croydon Guardian and Croydon Council.

The van in question had been reported by residents in 2011, after a disused builder’s yard in Martin Crescent was being used as an illegal dumping ground for rubbish.

The council could not find the van and its registered keeper at the time but due to scale of the problem, the council had to intervene and clear the privately owned land.

In October 2012, the yard began to fill up with rubbish again.

One of Croydon Council’s environmental enforcement team attended the site and recognised the details of the vehicle which had previously been reported.

The fly tipper had left their van next to the waste they dumped, which led to the van being seized, impounded, crushed and finally scrapped.

Further investigations have led to the person believed to have been the owner of the vehicle at the time, now facing prosecution.

Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said: "We have zero tolerance to flytipping.

"Anyone caught illegally dumping waste - be that a single bin bag by the side of a tree or a tipper-load dropped on the road - can expect to be caught and punished.

"Croydon residents are fed up with this sort of behaviour, and we know we have their full support in issuing fines and seeking prosecutions whenever we have the evidence to back us up."