Man fined for fly-tipping at football club

A man has been fined after a football club had to postpone its match due to fly-tipping "on an organised scale" in its car park.

The 37-year-old, from Essex, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty at Luton Magistrates Court to fly-tipping at Oxhey Jets Football Club in Altham Way, near Watford, on 6 January last year, Three Rivers District Council said.

It added that the conviction came after its environmental enforcement team traced one of the tips to a household in Essex.

The man was ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation, a fine of £200 for depositing at a location without an environmental permit and a victim's surcharge of £80, the council said.

A further 11 tipper loads were dumped at the football club, throughout the night on 6 January, but "no other offenders were identified" and "no further prosecutions will come from this case", the authority added.

The club's founder, John Elliot, previously described the incident as "heartbreaking".

Their groundsman had never seen fly-tipping on this scale before.

Oxhey Jets, who play in the Combined Counties League, was forced to postpone its Hertfordshire FA Charity Shield clash with Wormley Rovers due to the mess.

Elliott said the perpetrators had broken locks and chains on the car park barrier to gain access to the site.

Emma Sheridan, Three Rivers District Council's associate director for environment, said: "It was extremely disheartening to see the Oxhey Jets Football Club, which is highly cherished by the local community, be hit with such a large fly-tip.

"If you come across any fly-tipped waste, please report it to the council. However, if you see fly-tipping in progress, please report to the police."

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