Three “selfish” men have been fined a combined total of £4,500 for littering and fly-tipping incidents across part of Kent.

CCTV captured a van dumping waste onto a grass verge near one of the car parks at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham on September 24, 2023.

Tommy-Lee Mead, of Matts Hill Road, Hartlip, near Sittingbourne, the registered keeper of the vehicle, was given a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) by Medway Council exercising powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990

As the fine was not paid, the case was heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court on May 28.

Mead pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay £3,474.52.

In a separate incident on May 4 last year Medway Council’s street scene officers discovered seven black sacks and several household items left on a public footpath near an alleyway behind homes in Castle Road, Chatham.

Items were found linking the bags to a property on the road. A letter was then sent to the occupant, Mihai Mutu, on May 24 last year, requesting an explanation.

As no response was received, an FPN was issued for failure to comply with the householder’s duty of care.

As the fine was not paid, the case was heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court on May 20 this year, and Mutu was ordered to pay £586 after pleading guilty.

In another case on May 14 last year, a witness spotted a man throwing a plastic bottle out of a car in Watling Street, Strood.

Luke Mannerings, of Edwards Close, Snodland, was issued an FPN, which was not paid.

The case, which was proved in absence, was heard at Medway Magistrates’ Court on May 20 this year, and he was ordered to pay £393.

Medway Council’s portfolio holder for highways, community safety and enforcement, Cllr Alex Paterson, said: “We will continue to take a firm stance on fly-tipping and littering.

“This selfish behaviour increases the costs of our street cleansing, which in the previous financial year was around £4 million – a cost which is ultimately borne by local taxpayers.

“When we find evidence of fly-tipping or littering, we will always follow through with enforcement whenever possible.”