Brighton man convicted for flytipping

Charles ‘Charlie’ Brazil of Ridge View, Coldean pleaded guilty at Brighton Magistrates court on Wednesday, August 2 to flytipping near the Lewes Road rail viaduct last April.

Brighton and Hove City Council said the rubbish included laminate flooring, chipboard underlay and black sacks of waste.

Mr Brazil said he had charged a customer to dispose of the materials legally, and hiss defence solicitor said his client had intended to dispose of the material at Wilson Avenue tip instead.

The council pointed out this would also have been illegal - businesses are not allowed to use domestic refuse sites like those at Wilson Avenue or Leighton Road in Hove. They must by law dispose of their rubbish via dedicated trade contractors or facilities.

Among the rubbish was packaging bearing Mr Brazil’s name. He was summonsed to attend court on July 19, but failed to appear. He was arrested on August 2.

Magistrates gave Mr Brazil a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years. He was also ordered to do 50 hours of unpaid community work. He had to pay the council £750 for legal costs, £500 for clearing the rubbish and a victim surcharge of £115. The court also ordered Mr Brazil to remove a caravan from the site within a few days.

Chairman of the council’s environment committee Cllr Gill Mitchell said: “This was an outrageous act of flytipping which showed zero respect for the city’s environment or the people who live here. We’ll always prosecute flytippers when we can identify them and urge the public to help us do that wherever possible.”