A flytipper has been ordered to pay out more than £7,000 after dumping large amounts of waste illegally.

Ben Taylor, of Bush Avenue in Ramsgate, was taken to court by Thanet District Council and was found guilty of two counts of depositing rubbish at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on Monday.

The loads were discovered on farmland on Chalk Hill, Ramsgate, and in an alleyway in St Lawrence last June.

For both incidents, he was fined £2,640. Added to the £855 in legal costs, £428.51 enforcement costs and £470 compensation to the land owner and a £170 victim surcharge, that has left the 30-year-old with a hefty bill of £7,203.81.

Gavin Waite, director of operational and commercial services at Thanet District Council said: "Fly-tipping is a crime and dumped waste is a blight on the local landscape.

"Anyone who offers to remove waste must be licensed to do so. People ought to be aware that they shouldn’t just hand their waste over to someone who is offering to take it away, unless they’ve checked their credentials.

"It might seem like a good deal at the time but the person whose waste it is could also face some serious consequences if it ends up being dumped illegally."

Thanet council's enforcement team fully investigates sites where fly-tipping has taken place and whenever possible, those who have dumped waste illegally are prosecuted.

Anyone who witnesses fly-tipping is encouraged to report it online on the council's website or directly to sse@thanet.gov.uk

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet