‘Thankfully you can’t hear my language’: fly-tipper caught red-handed by riders

A fly-tipper who was confronted by a group of riders as he attempted to dump bags of waste into a ditch has been hit with a £738 fine.

The riders caught the man’s actions on hat camera as they rode home in Great Brickhill, Buckinghamshire, on 15 July. The footage was sent to Buckinghamshire Council, which took action.

Eve Atkins, who was the lead rider of the three on her young cob George, was the first to see what the man was doing. Her mother Pauline Curtis, in the rear on Spike, was wearing the camera.

“Thankfully, my mum was far enough away that you can’t hear my language!” Eve told H&H.

“You always meet drivers and dog-walkers and you have to be tolerant; I always say to liveries to be polite, smile and don’t swear – but that’s exactly what I did. I may have called him a few names and told him to put it back in his vehicle.”

The footage shows the man retrieving his bags of rubbish and loading them back into his van.

“He was very meek, and apologised,” Eve said. “But it was a very odd place to stop; on a blind bend – I thought he’d broken down when I first saw him.”

Eve called the police to report the incident and was directed to the council. On 12 October, the man was fined.

Gareth Williams, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for climate change and environment, said: “I wish to thank the horse riders who witnessed and recorded this fly-tipping incident. They were rightly upset to see someone dumping waste in a country lane and came to us with video evidence which led to a successful prosecution.

“We certainly don’t expect anyone to confront fly-tippers, but we would ask witnesses to provide the vehicle registration to us so we can investigate any incidents. People can report fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire to us online by visiting FixMyStreet.”

He added that rubbish dumped on private land should be reported to the landowner, whose responsibility it is.

Eve said the process had been fast, and that she hopes the fine might put other potential fly-tippers off.

“I don’t think anyone who saw him would have let him continue doing it,” she added. “Especially someone who has to pick up litter all over the farm.”

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