A Hampshire man who dumped a huge load of waste on a lane near Clanfield has been forced to cough up nearly £3,000 following a lengthy investigation.

Wooden pallets, conservatory roofing and gutters were among the items Martyn Willis shamefully dumped on Chalton Lane on November 10, 2021.

But justice finally caught up following a “dogged” council investigation with the serial fly-tipper from South Street, Gosport, appearing in court last week.

East Hampshire District Council had obtained evidence from numerous people who had paid businesses run by Willis to take away their waste.

And although the defendant had proved elusive he was eventually charged under Section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Willis was ordered to pay £1,260 in compensation for clearance costs after pleading guilty to a failure in his duty of care to ensure that controlled waste was disposed of legally. He was also ordered to pay £1,325 legal costs, a £36 victim surcharge and fined £355, with the latter being reduced due to an early plea.

The result should send a message to fellow fly-tippers according to Cllr Tony Costigan, EHDC portfolio holder for Neighbourhood Quality.

He said: “The investigation into this fly tip took many hours and Willis was very hard to track down.

“This result is a testament to the dogged determination of our team to stick with the prosecution for more than four years – fly-tippers should know that we will continue to track them down for as long as it takes.”

The council has urged to people to book a trip to the tip or contact an approved waste carrier, and get a waste transfer note as a receipt, if they have a large quantity of waste that needs removing.

Fly-tipping can be reported through Hampshire County council on 0300 555 1388.