A fly-tipper who dumped rubbish on a Devon farm has avoided punishment after the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency refused to reveal his details on data protection grounds.
The farm which suffered the incident, on the Ashcombe estate in south Devon, has already suffered a spate of fly-tipping problems.
Ralph Rayner, who owns the Ashcombe estate, stumbled across a receipt from a fast food outlet that was less than an hour old when he was cleaning up the waste.
A vehicle registration number was found and Mr Rayner, with the help of the local police, then went to the DVLA to query who the fly-tipper was. It couldn't release who the perpetrator was due to data protection.
A DVLA spokesman said: “We have to ensure the release of information is lawful. When there is sufficient evidence to tie fly-tipping to a vehicle, we can supply that information and in the vast majority of cases when a local authority requests information, we are able to release it.”
Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris revealed the incident during a fly-tipping debate in parliament on Tuesday (21 November).
'Polluters pay'
She urged government to change how the law works so polluters pay, currently, they do not. She said: “A constituent of mine with a large estate regularly finds people have been fly-tipping on it.
“We need to consider better interagency working. It would certainly help if the DVLA were prepared to work with local authorities to identify the cars, drivers and owners. Having an evidence trail is very important.
“There is a burden on individual landowners and a requirement for them to clear up the land, and they get absolutely no contribution towards doing that.
“Based on everything I have seen, the polluter does not pay.”
She suggested the government looks at different policies, such as getting rid of tip charges and allowing tips to be opened for longer. She said it would encourage people to rid their waste legally.
'Better collaboration'
The government has confirmed a rise in the number of fly-tipping incidents to 936,000 in 2015/16.
NFU Deputy President Minette Batters said the solution was better collaboration between all those affected parties.
"Fly-tipping is the scourge of the countryside - clearly we are disappointed that the number of fly-tipping incidents has increased," said Mrs Batters.
"Our members are fully aware of the impacts this can have on farm and the wider countryside, as well as the high costs and stress that can come along with it. This can run into thousands of pounds and can see farmers being forced to deal with the aftermath themselves."
