A man who fly-tipped building waste in a north Hampshire village has been ordered to carry out community service.

Florentin Petrica Baboi admitted collecting the waste, which included a bath, a sink and black plastic bin bags, and dumping it in Wooton St Lawrence rather than taking it to a tip.

Along with another unknown man, the 31-year-old collected the waste in May 2020 as part of a waste removal agreement and dumped it in a bridleway off Shothanger Lane.

The 31-year-old, who pleaded guilty to the offences at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, was ordered to pay £500 in court costs, £194 in clear-up costs and a £90 victim surcharge.

Baboi, of Gainsborough Road, must also undertake 80 hours of unpaid work.

The borough council’s head of environmental services Tom Payne said: “This case should act as a reminder to all householders who employ people to remove their waste that unless the proper checks are made on those being employed to remove waste the consequences can be serious.

“We urge householders to take reasonable measures to ensure that their waste is transferred to an authorised person and the Environment Agency has the records of registered waste carriers on its website.

"If the necessary checks are not carried out, the householder could be punished. In this case the fly-tipper received a criminal record supporting the borough council’s zero tolerance approach to fly-tipping.”

Fly-tipping carries a maximum of five years imprisonment at Crown Court. Since May 2018, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has convicted 28 individuals and companies for fly-tipping and related waste offences.

Fly-tipping can be reported to the council by calling 01256 844844 or by visiting www.basingstoke.gov.uk/flytipping.