Fly-tip away home! Brazen crooks dump 28ft-long CARAVAN crammed with rubbish by roadside… just yards from recycling centre

• The motor home, packed full of wardrobes and pushchairs, was abandoned on the A40 near Beaconsfield
• Rubbish, bed frames and discarded numbers are piling out of the smashed windows as residents complain
• An estimated 20,000 fly-tipping incidents happen each week, costing councils millions of pounds to clean up

Brazen fly-tippers have sparked fury after dumping an entire mobile home by the side of an A-road.

The 28ft-long motor home, packed full of wardrobes and pushchairs, was abandoned on a roadside verge in Beaconsfield just yards from a recycling centre.

The cream-coloured home has rubbish – including bed frames and discarded number plates – piling out of its smashed windows.

It was first spotted by a disgruntled resident beside the A40 near Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, close to the Beaconsfield Household Recycling Centre. 

It comes after tarmac, asbestos, furniture and even a boat were dumped across the country as the number of incidents rose to almost 20,000 each week, costing councils millions of pounds a year to clear up. 

The 28ft-long motor home, packed full of wardrobes and pushchairs, was abandoned on a roadside verge beside the A40 in Beaconsfield, just yards from a recycling centre

The dumped motorhome in Buckinghamshire was first reported to FixMyStreet on September 1 and again a second time on September 12. 

MailOnline has approached Bucks Council for comment.

In 2019/2020 local authorities in England had to deal with nearly 1 million fly-tipping incidents, including clearing tyres, and car bumpers.

The number of court fines issued increased by 30 per cent to 2,671 over the same period with the total value hitting £1.09million – a 7 per cent rise on the previous year.

The shocking government figures were released in May as the country geared up for the Great British Spring Clean, organised by Keep Britain Tidy.

In August, councils demanded that fly-tipping fines should be increased to at least £400 to act as a suitable deterrent. 

The Local Government Association (LGA) said penalties for dumping rubbish must be significantly higher to prevent people carrying out the illegal act.

A total of 158 local authorities signed a letter to the Sentencing Council – who make the rules on fines – urging them to make changes to the law.

The incident comes after tarmac, asbestos, furniture and even a boat were dumped across the country as the number of incidents rose to almost 20,000 each week, costing councils millions of pounds a year to clear up

Currently a deliberate fly-tipping offence which incurs ‘minor’ environmental harm should warrant a fine of 600 per cent of weekly earnings.

Based on UK average earnings this should amount to more than £3,000 – but from the 2,671 court fines issued from 2019 to last year, the average was £438 per fine.

The LGA says the penalties fail to match the severity of the offence and do not act as a suitable deterrent.

The letter demands that court fines should always exceed £400 and include costs incurred by the public purse and the police in bringing the defendant to court.

It also calls for fly-tipping to be looked at as an offence first, rather than at the individual and their ability to pay, as well as more use of suspended sentences or custodial sentences for anyone convicted of a second fly-tipping offence.

What is the law on fly-tipping? 

Fly-tipping is defined as the ‘illegal deposit of any waste onto land that does not have a licence to accept it’, according to Keep Britain Tidy, an environmental charity campaigning to reduce litter, improve local places and prevent waste.

Tipping a mattress, electrical items or a bin bag full of rubbish in the street would be considered fly-tipping, but at the larger end of the scale the act can also involve dumping several truckloads of construction and demolition waste on different types of land.

Some fly-tipping – particularly uncontrolled illegal waste disposal – can be hazardous to the public, especially if it contains toxic material or asbestos. 

In 2019/2020 local authorities in England dealt with nearly 1 million fly-tipping incidents – approximately 20,000 each week – which cost councils millions of pounds a year to clean up.

Fly-tipping is a criminal offence and can lead to prosecution and sentences such as imprisonment, fines, or an order to deprive a particular person of rights to a vehicle used to commit the offence.   

Earlier this year 158 councils wrote to the Sentencing Council urging them to increase the penalties for dumping rubbish and fine those caught at least £400.  

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