A transport company from Hayes has been fined for dumping an articulated trailer by the roadside in Beaconsfield after being caught in the act by traffic cameras.
A Director of Sophia Transport Limited appeared at High Wycombe Magistrates Court on 9 August and pleaded guilty on behalf of his company, following the illegal dumping of an articulated lorry trailer on the A40 at Beaconsfield.
The court heard that on 27 January 2023, employees of Sophia Transport Limited were recorded on traffic management camera's abandoning an un-roadworthy articulated trailer in a lay-by in the early hours of the morning. An astute contractor, working in partnership with Buckinghamshire Council, noticed the trailer in situ and reviewed the footage on the camera. When he found the suspicious incident, he alerted council enforcement officers.
The Company Director was interviewed under caution by council enforcement officers at Hayes Police Station and admitted that his company had deposited the trailer. He said it was to be collected by a third party but unfortunately, they failed to recover the trailer and it remained abandoned for several weeks. As it was a hazard to other motorists, an eyesore and there was a genuine fear that it might encourage more offences, Buckinghamshire Council contracted a specialist recovery company to remove and destroy the trailer at taxpayers' expense.
Magistrates fined Sophia Transport Limited £2,667. They were ordered to pay £3,282 in clearance costs along with £571 investigation and legal costs. They were also ordered to pay a £1,066 victim surcharge, making a total of £7,586.
Jilly Jordan, Buckinghamshire Council's Deputy Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment said: "This case highlights the growing and worrying trend of hauliers discarding articulated trailers in the counties lay-bys, thus denying other motorists the use of the facility. The trailer in this case was abandoned as waste. Discarding it amounts to a criminal offence and our enforcement team will pursue the perpetrators to bring them to justice and recover the taxpayers costs incurred by having to pay for removal of the dumped waste."
To report fly-tipping in Buckinghamshire use the online Fix My Street portal – www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/fixmystreet
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