Plastering firm fined �1,000 for dumping 30 bags of rubbish at Melbourn beauty spot

A PLASTERING firm has been fined for illegally dumping 30 bags of building waste at a beauty spot. Mullarkey Plastering has been hit with a �1,000 penalty for ditching the rubbish, which included cement render, timber, plasterboard and broken bricks, at t

A PLASTERING firm has been fined for illegally dumping 30 bags of building waste at a beauty spot.

Mullarkey Plastering has been hit with a �1,000 penalty for ditching the rubbish, which included cement render, timber, plasterboard and broken bricks, at the Grinnell Way bridleway, Melbourn, which links Back Lane to the A10.

At a hearing at Cambridge magistrates court last week, owner of the business, Jeffrey Mullarkey, 54, of Bury Plantation, Royston, pleaded guilty to failing in his duty of care to properly dispose of waste.

An employee of the firm, Kevin Day, 40, of Chiltern Road, Baldock, pleaded guilty at the same hearing to fly tipping. He was fined �300 and ordered to pay costs of �100 and a victim surcharge of �15.

Officers from South Cambridgeshire district council discovered the waste during a routine inspection of the area. Hidden amongst the debris, they found an invoice addressed to Mullarkey Plastering Ltd. On contacting the company, the owner and one of his employees admitted that the waste had come from a job they had carried out in London, and had been fly tipped.

The waste cost the council �300 to clear.

Chris Bradley, enforcement officer from the district council, said: "We're very pleased with the result of this case, which sends out a warning not to fly tip in South Cambridgeshire. We live in a beautiful district and will not tolerate fly tipping. If we catch you, we will take action against you."

Anyone with information about fly tipping can report it to the district council on 03450 450 063 or by visiting www.scambs.gov.uk/reportit.