A MAN who fly-tipped waste in a South Lakeland woodland has been fined £250 by Kendal magistrates.

Thomas Richardson, 19, of Claife Avenue, Windermere, had been asked to take the rubbish to a tip by Nicola and Ian Jackson but instead took it to a wooded area off Church Road, near Kirket Nook, on Church Road, Witherslack, in September.

Richardson pleaded guilty at South Lakeland Magistrates’ Court to the charge of depositing controlled waste without an environmental permit.

Nicola Hartley, prosecuting for South Lakeland District Council, told the hearing that the waste was reported by a member of the public and traced back to Richardson, who then cleared it up three days later.

Richardson said he was sorry for what he had done.

“I didn’t take it to the tip because I was told that it would cost me money,” he said He was ordered to pay £440.24 in court costs and £15 victim surcharge.

Coun Clare Feeney-Johnson, portfolio holder for the Environment, said: “This case follows a number of successful prosecutions the council has carried out against people who dump waste illegally. SLDC have a policy of zero tolerance against fly tipping and the council will always do everything possible to find offenders and prosecute them.”