A BASINGSTOKE builder has been fined after waste fly-tipped near Slough was traced back to him.

David Mihalia, of Pinkerton Road in South Ham, was working on a building site in Camden, London in February when he hired a 'man with a van' to dispose of commercial waste.

However, the court heard it ended up being dumped illegally on a rural lane near Iver in Buckinghamshire.

The councillor in charge of the environment at the local council said that Mihalia, who is the director of Davidus Building Services Ltd, "chose to turn a blind eye and pay someone to remove their trade waste without regard as to whether it will be disposed of properly".

The large pile of waste was found by Buckinghamshire Council officers in Ford Lane on February 11. Evidence found among the waste led them to the 33-year-old Basingstoke man.

Mihaila was interviewed under caution by council investigators at Slough Police Station in February 2020. He admitted that his company failed in their duty of care in relation to the transfer of the waste dumped illegally in Ford Lane.

The magistrates gave discount for his early guilty plea at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on September 30 and fined Mr Mihaila £1,050. He was ordered to pay £1,554 towards clean-up, investigation and legal costs, and a victim surcharge of £105 - making a total for him to pay of £2,709.

Bill Chapple OBE, Buckinghamshire Council cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: "Once again, waste from a London building site ends up dumped by a Buckinghamshire roadside, because a building contractor has chosen to turn a blind eye and pay someone to remove their trade waste without regard as to whether it will be disposed of properly.

"This behaviour not only spoils our local environment, causing nuisance and expense, but it keeps the criminal waste carriers in business.

"We will continue to prosecute these cases whenever possible, to act as a reminder to the building trade to act responsibly."