A fly-tipper spotted dumping waste twice in the same street has been sentenced to paying £4,170 and doing 250 hours of unpaid community service under the council’s latest Don’t Mess With Croydon prosecution.
Croydon Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday 11 August that Nuhur Mulindwa was seen in Bramble Close on 21 May 2015 dumping rubbish including old bits of carpet, and weeks later on 15 June 2015 he was seen again in the same street fly-tipping waste including furniture, poles and wood.
Mr Mulindwa, aged 56, of Shrublands Avenue in Shirley, was found guilty of two counts of illegally dumping household waste at a hearing on 5 August this year. At Thursday’s sentencing the court heard that at the time of the offences Mr Mulindwa had been running a registered waste collection business called Enrichment Internations Ltd, which has since closed.
Sentencing Mr Mulindwa to paying £4,110 in costs and a £60 victim surcharge, plus 250 hours unpaid community service, District Judge Kamlesh Kaur Rana said: “These are very serious offences which you committed deliberately and you committed for financial gain.”
Thursday’s prosecution is the council’s 114th successful court case since launching its Don’t Mess With Croydon – Take Pride campaign, which combines enforcement with encouraging residents to take part in community litter picks. Other initiatives introduced as part of the campaign include time-banded waste collection, which discourages fly-tipping along London Road between West Croydon and Norbury by restricting the hours that shopkeepers are allowed to leave out their business rubbish for collection.
The council’s 113th Don’t Mess With Croydon prosecution was on Thursday 4 August at Camberwell Green Magistrates’ Court, where Graham Thomas was found guilty of three charges of failing to answer council enforcement officers’ requests for information under section 108 of the Environment Act 1995. Mr Thomas, of Malden Avenue in South Norwood, was sentenced to a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,000 towards costs.
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader and cabinet member for clean and green Croydon, said:
“I want to thank the witness who came forward to report Mr Mulindwa’s offences, as the public’s help is really key to us investigating fly-tippers.
“The judge’s strong sentence in this case reflects the damage that fly-tipping does to our borough, and hopefully this will make other offenders think twice in future.”
Councillor Stuart Collins, deputy leader – Clean Green Croydon
