A CROYDON fly-tipper has been brought to book after his crime was witnessed by a resident who mentioned the incident on his Facebook page.
Amir Ben Malik, of Kidderminster Road, Broad Green, admitted the offence at Croydon Magistrates' Court yesterday.
He was fined £110, and ordered to pay costs of £200 and a £20 victim surcharge, the total of £330 to be paid before May 1.
The court heard that Malik, at the time a driver for Merton-based BMS Transport, was spotted in Kemp Gardens, Broad Green, in July fly-tipping a quantity of furniture from his company van.
The act was brought to the attention of one of the company directors, after word spread on social media, who immediately contacted Malik who admitted responsibility.
The director told Malik to return to the site to collect the waste he had dumped and he was sacked.
Malik initially stated he had acted for another man but later changed his story, saying the fly-tipping had been his own idea. He claimed that waste was already there, but accepted that, even if this were true, it was neither mitigation nor a defence.
Malik took the waste home and claimed to have booked a bulky waste collection with Croydon Council. But there was no record of the booking and Malik again changed his story, saying he had arranged for a man with a van to take the waste away.
Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the council, said: "This man went along to a residential street thinking that he'd be able to commit his crime unnoticed under cover of the night, but he was wrong, and he now has a criminal record.
"Thanks to the power of social media, which so often gets a bad press, many people, and eventually his employer, learned of what he'd done and he was made to account for his horribly antisocial act.
"This is a great example of the need for residents to speak up if they see anything like this going on. If the resident in this case hadn't acted, Malik would have got away with his crime, leaving Croydon council taxpayers to pick up the tab for clearing his mess.
"Other would-be fly-tippers should take note, and be aware that the council will prosecute. They must realise that they shouldn't mess with Croydon."
The crackdown on fly-tipping is part of the council's Don't Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign, aimed at combining the help of volunteers with council action to encourage recycling and lead enforcement against the worst offences.
Since launching the initiative last June, the council has:
• signed 184 volunteer community champions;
• issued about 150 fixed penalty notices of up to £80;
• carried out around 250 business licence inspections;
• cleared 88% of reported fly-tipped waste within 48 hours; and
• seen more than 4,000 people report fly-tipping issues
Dumped waste can be reported via the council's dedicated fly-tipping hotline on 020 8604 7000, the council's My Croydon smartphone app or by emailing flytip@croydon.gov.uk
For more information, visit www.croydon.gov.uk/environment/do
