Vitor Da Silva, 54, of Barton Road, Torquay was caught by the Environment Agency after dumping vehicles, furniture, white goods, gas bottles and more on a field in Daccombe, near Newton Abbot.

Da Silva pleaded guilty to illegally dumping waste with no environmental permit between January 2019 and August 2020 at Plymouth Magistrates Court on 10 February 2022.

He was given a one-year conditional discharge which would be breached if he failed to clear the site by the end of May 2022. And he was told to provide proof that the rubbish had been properly transferred to a legitimate site permitted to accept such waste.

If the site is not cleared in time, and using proper means, then Da Silva will be in contempt of court and face immediate imprisonment.

Phil Butterworth of the Environment Agency said:

Da Silva has been told to do what he should have done from the start and that is properly dispose of the waste.

Unfortunately, anyone who used Da Silva’s services would have also failed their duty of care which is to ask for proof the waste carrier has an environmental permit, ask where the waste is going, avoid paying in cash and always get a receipt.

Asking the right questions, and doing the right things can really help prevent waste getting into the wrong hands – the hands of waste criminals - and ending up in the wrong place.

Da Silva was also ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a £22 victim surcharge.

Editor’s notes:

Da Silva pleaded guilty to knowingly causing or knowingly permitted the carrying on of a waste operation on land at the junction of Downaway Lane and St Marychurch Road, Daccombe, Newton Abbot in respect of which no environmental permit was in force between 13 January 2019 and 18 August 2020, Contrary to regulations 38(1)(b) and 12(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.