A man has been fined £20,000 for large scale fly-tipping on private land and farmland in Cobham and Shorne.

Darren Divall, 51, appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates on Wednesday June 22, and was found guilty of an offence under Section 110 of the Environment act 1990.

His conviction followed a Gravesham Council investigation into a number of fly-tipping offences in October last year, where rubbish was dumped on farmland and land belonging to Highways England across North and West Kent.

A tipper truck involved in several of the offences in Cobham was identified and later found abandoned in a hotel car park, after being damaged whilst fly-tipping on Highways England land near the A2 in Shorne.

Divall, from Bexhill on Sea, was caught on CCTV attending the location and trying to recover the vehicle on three occasions, before it was discovered by investigating officers.

The truck was also found to have been fitted with false plates.

On a subsequent site visit, carried out with colleagues from Medway Council and Kent Police, Divall was found working at a premises from which the fly-tipped waste had come.

He was served with a notice to provide documentation in relation to his involvement in the fly-tipping offences and the attempted recovery of the vehicle, but refused to provide these documents and failed to engage with the investigating officers.

The court fined Mr Divall £20,000, awarded full costs of £1023.74, while Divall was ordered to pay £150 in legal costs, and £190 victim surcharge.

The case comes on the heels of another successful conviction, which led to Phillip Rumsey, from Minster on Sea, being fined £20,000 by Magistrates at Medway on June 10.

Gravesham Council's investigation into these offences continues and it is anticipated that further prosecutions will follow.

Cllr Shane Mochrie-Cox Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure said: "We will not tolerate fly-tipping and council officers in partnership with other agencies will continue to investigate offences related to environmental crimes in Gravesham.

"I hope that the few selfish, inconsiderate criminals that may think about fly tipping or committing other environmental crimes in our borough will reconsider their actions and be deterred.

"This is the second huge fine that has come as a result with regards to this massive fly tip in Cobham and Shorne and I am pleased to see that substantial fines like this are being given by the courts.

"I would like to highlight that we will enforce on public and private land and will seek full costs from the courts for the victims of these crimes to show our support for those affected."

You can report fly-tipping in Gravesham by going to www,gravesham.gov.uk/flytipping. If you have any information relating to any environmental crime in the borough you can email Tipoff@gravesham.gov.uk