Man fined over £1,500 after two fly-tipping incidents in one day

A man responsible for a vehicle used to dump waste at two separate locations on the same day has been ordered to pay costs over £1500 and complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

Richard Darren Barwell, 55, of Ropewalk Road, Llanelli, pleaded guilty at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on October 30, 2025, to two offences under Section 33(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Under section 33(5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, a person is liable if controlled waste is deposited from a vehicle they control regardless of whether or not they gave permission for the waste to be deposited.

The first incident, on August 10, 2024, involved the dumping of items from a house renovation, including several internal doors, a cream bath, a bathroom sink with a seashell-like pattern, a large amount of timber, carpet underlay, carpet, lino and bags of building rubble in a lane connecting Gower Street with Tucker Street, Briton Ferry.

The second incident, on the same day, happened at Wharf Road, Briton Ferry and consisted of five builders’ bags containing old loft insulation, bags of rubble and old rendering, a broken cream toilet and cistern lid matching the same colour and seashell-like pattern as the bath and sink in the first incident, a lawn mower, green carpet underlay, kitchen lino and a Carmarthenshire County Council blue plastic recycling bag.

Mr Barwell initially denied being involved in the illegal deposit of waste, but Neath Port Talbot Council Waste Enforcement Officers managed to track down photographic evidence.

The images from a number of sources show a black Ford tipper van that they discovered Mr Barwell was insured to drive, containing waste of a similar nature in the locations where the dumping took place.

During the investigation, the Ford tipper van was seized by the council and, as no one made claim to it, was crushed as it was deemed unfit to be on the road.

Cllr Scott Jones, Neath Port Talbot Council’s Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said: “This kind of fly-tipping is a serious environmental crime and can be very distressing for the communities where waste is unlawfully deposited.

“I want to praise our Waste Enforcement Officers who worked hard to bring about this prosecution and it sends out the message that those who fly-tip, and in so doing damage our communities, will be brought before the courts.”

Mr Barwell was ordered to pay £1,516 in costs, a £114 Victim Surcharge and to complete 100 hours of unpaid work.