Crushing end for lorry involved in flytipping

A lorry has been seized and crushed after it was filmed being used to illegally dump rubbish in the district.

The city council says the action is a “shot across the bows” to flytippers who are increasingly being targeted in a crackdown on the environmental menace.

The 7.5-tonne Iveco truck was impounded by enforcement officers after a raid at Prospect Farm in Owls Hatch Road, Greenhill, last month.

It had earlier been caught on covert CCTV being used to dump waste at the nearby former Share and Coulter pub site. The offenders involved have yet to be caught.

The land has been repeatedly blighted by flytippers and in February contractors for the city council took away more than 74 tons of rubbish, with the clean-up bill hitting a staggering £21,313. Last year the council cleared 100 tons of waste from the same site.

Chairman of the city council’s community committee Cllr Neil Baker said: “The crushing of this lorry is a shot across the bows of the flytippers who have no qualms about dumping tons of rubbish around the district, blighting the countryside and making life a misery for residents.

“While they make money out of their illegal activity, it costs council taxpayers and the private landowners affected thousands of pounds to clear up.

“After this lorry was seized, instances of flytipping fell dramatically. Taking it off the road is just one aspect of our zero-tolerance approach.”

Cllr Baker says the decision to crush the vehicle was taken because it had no MOT and was not taxed or insured.

He added it would have cost the council taxpayer a lot of money to have it assessed, and made roadworthy. If sold, there was a risk it would be used for flytipping again.

Cllr Baker said: “We are determined to use all of the powers available to us. We have recruited 11 extra enforcement officers who are focused on catching more offenders and are using a greater numbers of CCTV cameras.”

Anyone with information should call 01227 655027 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”

The lorry was seized and crushed by the city council; the truck being used to flytip in October last year

Police on the scene at Prospect Farm; rubbish flytipped around the former Share & Coulter pub in Owls Hatch Road, Herne Bay