A BUILDER from Stroud was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £1025 for fly tipping in Cirencester.

Steven Grego, 30, dumped bathroom fittings and packaging in the Cirencester Office Park while on his way home after a refurbishment job in Swindon.

Cheltenham Magistrates Court heard on June 6 that David Allberry, managing agent for the Cirencester Office Park, reported the fly tip to environmental wardens from Cotswold District Council.

Using information on the waste packaging, they gathered customer details for the bathroom fittings from an online supplier.

Together with Swindon Borough Council and Trading Standards, the wardens tracked down the offender through the internet and social media.

Grego initially denied the offence, claiming he had never visited the refurbished property in Swindon, but he later changed his plea to guilty.

He was fined £250 for the offence and £500 in costs.

He was also ordered to pay a compensation charge of £250 and a victim surcharge of £25 to Allberry who incurred substantial expenses for clearing the waste and cleansing the disposal site.

Cllr Sue Coakley, cabinet member for the environment at Cotswold District Council, said: “I am very grateful to everyone involved in bringing this man to justice.

"Our environmental wardens used a lot of initiative to track down Mr Grego, and we are pleased that he finally admitted responsibility when faced with the evidence we had collected.

"Our Wardens are a dedicated team and they continue to enjoy very good relationships with local people and neighbouring organisations with whose help they continue to combat fly tipping in the Cotswolds.

“There are good arrangements in place for everyone to dispose of their waste legally so there is absolutely no excuse for fly tipping, and we will use every means at our disposal to reduce the number of incidents in the Cotswolds.”