A man has been fined thousands of pounds this week after a heap of his rubbish was found illegally dumped in a countryside lane in Chalfont St. Peter.

The large pile of rubbish was discovered completely blocking Shire Lane on February 12 by investigators from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire.

After examining photographic evidence, investigators traced the waste back to Geoffrey John Barlow, from Malvern Avenue in Harrow.

The 62-year-old denied dumping the waste, but confirmed part of the rubbish was from his home which was carried away by a “man in a van” who he had paid to remove and dispose of the waste.

Mr Barlow admitted that he had made no checks to see if the man was authorised to remove the waste, he had no information as to the man’s identity and took no action to stop him from dumping the rubbish illegally.

He pleaded guilty at Wycombe Magistrates Court on Wednesday, July 20 to one offence of failing in his duty of care as a householder.

The Magistrates fined Mr Barlow £1,775, ordered clean-up and prosecution of £425 and a victim surcharge of £170, totalling up to £2,370.

Cllr Mike Smith, Chairman of the Joint Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire, said: "Occasionally we encounter truly despicable, dangerous dumping like this.

“The point here is that Mr Barlow could have helped prevent the waste from being dumped illegally if he had properly checked out the waste carrier's credentials.

“If the waste carrier had known that Mr Barlow could identify him it is much less likely that the waste would have been fly-tipped.

“We are all responsible for what happens to our waste – if you make no checks on the waste carrier then anything can happen to the rubbish and you may well be held responsible if it is found illegally dumped."