Man, 81, given suspended jail sentence for dumping asbestos waste in soil by Bucks property

An 81-year-old man from London was given a suspended jail sentence for dumping waste bags containing asbestos in a Bucks neighbourhood.

Jagdish Kumar Sharma admitted fly-tipping the waste at Broken Gate Lane in Denham at a hearing in High Wycombe Magistrates Court on Wednesday (17 April).

His guilty plea relates to an incident on 17 September, last year, when he disposed of corrugated roofing sheet material.

Residents discovered the black sacks in undergrowth by their property and reported the incident to Bucks Council. A council official took samples of the rubbish and it was confirmed that white asbestos fibres were present.

Due to the hazardous nature of asbestos the council says it had to hire a specialist to safely remove the waste.

Bucks Council did not pay for the cleaning job as the incident happened on a road that is not publicly maintained. Instead the landowners had to foot the bill for the clear up job.

CCTV footage from residents living in the area was used to identify the vehicle used to transport the waste. Bucks Council officers interviewed Sharma at a police station near his home. He said he found the waste dumped illegally outside a property he owned in London and was o incensed by finding the waste dumped on his property that he loaded it into his own vehicle and removed it.

However, according to council officials he was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation as to why he dumped it where he did.

A court in High Wycombe heard, the district judge take into account the offender’s age and personal circumstances, which were weighed up against the fact he deliberately dumped hazardous waste. Sharma was sentenced to a suspended three-month prison sentence, lasting over the next year.

Sharma was ordered to pay clean-up compensation in full to the landowners in the sum of £582. He was also ordered to pay full investigation and prosecution costs of £917.66 and a victim surcharge of £154, totalling £1,653.66.

Councillor Thomas Broom said: “Criminal fly-tipping will not be tolerated in Buckinghamshire, especially where it involves hazardous waste material.”

Fly-tipping can be reported in Buckinghamshire via email and online.