Man ordered to pay £1,500 after repeated fly-tipping offence

A man has been handed a community sentence and ordered to pay over £1,500 after pleading guilty to repeated fly‑tipping offences.

Craig Lewis, aged 35, of Gurnos Estate, Brynmawr, pleaded guilty to all offences at Cwmbran Magistrates Court, and the court heard evidence of repeated incidents, together with Mr Lewis’ failure to cooperate with the investigation by Blaenau Gwent Council and a failure to provide waste transfer notes as legally required.

The court heard of the deliberate nature of the offences and the impact they had on the local community, as well as contributing to the wider national issue of waste crime and placing additional strain on public resources.

Lewis dumped two van loads of waste on separate dates, the 23rd of July 2024 at Manmoel Road, Tredegar and sometime between the 26th and 27th of July 2024 at Tredegar Road, Tredegar.

The court was shown photographs of both offences and of a vehicle registered to Mr Lewis and heard that he had been disqualified from driving at the time of the offences.

The defence told the court that Mr Lewis had since been declared bankrupt and was experiencing financial difficulties at the time of the offences, which he claimed arose from non‑payment by customers. It was also confirmed that he is currently disqualified from being a company director until December 2027.

Magistrates sentenced Mr Lewis to a 12‑month Community Order with 80 hours of unpaid work, reduced from 120 hours to reflect his early guilty plea. He was also ordered to pay £1,404.59 in prosecution costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

A Blaenau Gwent Council spokesperson said:“Fly‑tipping is not a victimless crime. It blights neighbourhoods, puts pressure on public services and costs taxpayers thousands of pounds every year.

“We will continue to take robust enforcement action against those who choose to dump waste illegally.”

Residents are reminded that anyone transporting waste as part of a business must be properly registered waste carrier and should provide evidence of this. Please check with Natural Resources Wales.

If you have any information about fly-tipping contact the council on 01495 311556 or by emailing [email protected]