Watch van seized in Washington over suspected fly-tipping

The van was witnessed by Environmental Enforcement Officers travelling along Blue House Lane in Washington before pulling over into a service station where it was seized by Sunderland City Council.

It is suspected that it had been used in two separate fly-tipping incidents which occurred on Foxcover Lane in June and August.

It follows seizures where vehicles believed to have been used in fly-tipping were removed from outside addresses after reportedly being used in similar offences.

The Deputy Leader of Sunderland City Council, Councillor Claire Rowntree said: "Fly-tipping is not only anti-social but illegal and I hope this seizure acts as a stark warning to anyone tempted to fly-tip.

"Fly-tipping can be a real blight on communities so where we come across evidence that a vehicle may have been used for fly-tipping, we use our legal powers to seize it.

"If the owner doesn’t come forward within a certain period of time to claim it and provide the relevant documentation, we look to use these powers to either crush it or sell it.

"It's also really important for anyone planning to use a private waste collector to dispose of their waste, to make the proper checks first so that they don't unwittingly fall victim to fly-tippers.

"As householders, we all have a legal ‘Duty of Care’ to see that our waste is disposed of lawfully so if you are arranging a private collection you need to check where the waste is going and whether they have a valid waste carrier's licence.

"Not doing this could result in your having to pick up the bill if the collector you've used goes on to dump your waste elsewhere."

Since April last year, Sunderand City Council have seized five vehicles on suspicion of fly-tipping – two of which have been crushed, with a third due to meet the same fate in the coming weeks.

Anyone planning to use a private waste collector should check with the Environment Agency that the person or company concerned has a licence by visiting their website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/access-the-public-register-for-environmental-information or by calling 08708 506 506.

If you witnesses fly-tipping, you can report it anonymously to https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/report-flytipping or by calling 0191 520 5550.

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