FLYTIPPING has landed two men in trouble – even though they did not actually dump any rubbish.

Both men pleaded guilty at Bromley Magistrates’ Court of failing to exercise a duty of care when disposing of waste as they had paid other people to get rid of rubbish without checking whether the people they had paid were fully licensed.

Landscape gardener Pat Thompson was prosecuted after dumped garden waste was found on land near a car park.

Thompson, of Queensway, Petts Wood, is a registered waste carrier but admitted to paying two men to take the waste away.

He was ordered to pay £640, including £400 costs, after failing to ensure controlled waste was transferred for disposal to an authorised person.

And in a separate case, Anthony Walsh was sentenced to a three month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £745 costs after building and household waste was flytipped in Star Lane, St Mary Cray.

The contracts director, of Windsor Drive, Chelsfield, admitted he had paid a man in a van to remove the building waste without checking with the Environment Agency whether this man was registered to legally carry this type of waste.

Portfolio holder for the environment Councillor Colin Smith said: “Legally, all waste needs to be disposed of correctly.

“If you do not dispose of the waste personally, you still need to make sure that the person disposing of it is a registered waste carrier.

“Waste disposal companies will give you a waste transfer note and this will act as proof that the waste has been disposed of correctly.

“It is easy to check whether a company or an individual is a licensed waste carrier and if your waste is found dumped illegally and you haven’t used a registered waste carrier, you will be prosecuted.”

Call 999 if you see flytipping in progress or call the council on 020 8313 4557 to report dumped rubbish.