Two fly-tippers who dumped rubbish across the district have faced the music in court.

After household waste was found abandoned at the beach and in country lanes, an investigation was launched by Dover District Council (DDC).

It resulted in prosecutions being brought against two men.

Luke Slater, 30, being sentenced to a 12-month community order after pleading guilty to four offences of fly tipping across the Dover district.

He must also complete 100 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £1,498 in clean-up costs after appearing at Folkestone Magistrates Court on March 28.

DDC's environmental crime team had conducted a thorough investigation which linked Mr Slater, from Folkestone, to all four offences which occurred between March 18-31 2021, at Richborough Road, Ash; Updown Road, Ham; Undercliffe Road, Kingsdown; and Grove Road in Preston.

Several of the offences involved tipper truckloads of waste, including large amounts of household and garden waste blocking roads and farm entrances.

Investigations revealed that the waste was from house clearances undertaken in properties in Broadstairs and Ramsgate by Mr Slater, working under the business name, Rapid Response Garden Maintenance.

Throughout the investigation, Mr Slater failed to contact the investigating team.

In a separate case brought by DDC, Michael Melody, 64, from Deal, entered guilty pleas to two offences of fly-tipping and was ordered to pay £848 at the same court on the same date.

The case was brought by DDC following an investigation into dumped loft insulation material at the beach in Walmer and at Dover Road, Guston which occurred in October 2019.

Cllr Martin Bates, DDC’s portfolio holder for regulatory services, said: "We’re determined to make fly-tippers face the music with a robust approach to investigating and prosecuting those who break the law and trash our local environment.

"We all have role to play, making sure that we check the credentials of waste carriers to ensure they are licensed, and also to report incidents of fly-tipping so that we can investigate and bring offenders to book."