Newport and Caerphilly trio in court for illegal waste

The defendants - two from Newport and one from Caerphilly county borough - were all sent to court in separate cases relating to the unauthorised disposal of waste.

Livia Makova, of Cambridge Road, Newport, was convicted after admitting one charge of depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit.

Cwmbran Magistrates' Court was told Makova committed the offence in nearby Rugby Road on May 8 this year.

General street view image of Rugby Road in Newport. Picture: Google (Image: Google)

The dumped item in question comprised a plastic bag of household waste.

Makova was fined £100 and must also pay court costs of £84.

In another case, also at Cwmbran Magistrates Court, Newport man Matthew Heath appeared to face one charge of the same offence - that of depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit.

The 31-year-old, of Parry Drive, dumped household waste and cardboard boxes in a commercial waste bin at Leeway Industrial Estate.

He admitted the offence, which took place on May 6 this year.

General street view image of Leeway Industrial Estate in Newport. Picture: Google (Image: Google)

Heath was handed the same punishment - a £100 fine, and court costs totalling £84.

The complainant in both cases was Newport City Council.

Meanwhile, in Caerphilly county borough, 35-year-old Carley Harvey was charged with two counts of failing to take measures to secure an authorised transfer of household waste.

The offences, under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, were committed on April 28 and May 3 this year.

Harvey, whose address was given to the court as Fferm-y-Bryn, Ystrad Mynach, pleaded guilty to the charges.

She was ordered to pay a total of £734 - comprising a £150 fine for each offence and £434 in court costs.

The complainant in the case was Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Fly-tipping figures for Gwent

Away from the court, councils in Gwent continue to report the illegal disposal of waste as a serious problem.

The issue is especially severe in Newport, which reported the most fly-tipping offences of any Welsh council area in the past year.

Newport City Council also reported the highest increase in fly-tipping in Wales (some 87 per cent) compared with the previous year.

The other four local authorities in Gwent - namely Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly county borough, Monmouthshire, and Torfaen - all reported fewer fly-tipping offences than the previous year.