Quantocks flytipping 'man with a van' is convicted

FLYTIPPERS are being warned they face stiff penalties if they commit environmental crime by dumping rubbish indiscriminately in the countryside.
It follows the conviction of a ‘man with a van’ who dumped waste from a closed village post office in the Quantock Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Andrew Austwick, aged 41, of Lyngford Square, Taunton, admitted the flytipping flytipping when he appeared before Taunton Deane Magistrates.
Austwick dumped an assortment of rubbish, including a glass-fronted display fridge, a cash register, and other items at 20 Acre Plantation, near Cothelstone, on August 1 last year.
The Quantock Hills AONB Service alerted Taunton Deane Borough Council to the incident and environmental protection officer Paul Stevens carried out extensive and complex inquiries to identify the culprit.
The trail eventually led Mr Stevens to an address in Taunton which was Austwick’s home.
Austwick was prosecuted by the council and the magistrates ordered him to complete 70 hours of unpaid work for the benefit of the community and to pay prosecution and clear-up costs totalling £500.
The magistrates told Austwick: “Your actions were quite intentional. You were out to make a quick buck. You hit the jackpot in terms of damaging the environment.
“The whole enterprise was motivated by financial gain and you were operating without a licence. Do not do it again.”
Maria Casey, prosecuting on behalf of the council, told the court the waste had been cleared away by the council’s direct labour team at a cost of £280, and prosecution costs were incurred.
Austwick told the magistrates: “It was my own fault. I should have gone by the rules and I did not. I am sorry.”
After the case, the council’s environmental services portfolio holder, Councillor Mel Mullins, said: “It is satisfying to note that the courts have recognised the seriousness of this offence by awarding a very substantial penalty.
“We live in a beautiful part of the country and we want to keep it that way.
“Let anybody who may be thinking of flytipping be in no doubt of the council’s determination to gather evidence and prosecute cases of this environmental crime.”

• Our photograph shows some of the rubbish which Austwick flytipped on the Quantocks. Photo submitted.

Magistrates order benefits cheat to carry out unpaid work

A CONTINUING clampdown on benefits cheats by West Somerset Council saw a third man prosecuted in the space of a month.
Jameel Khan, aged 31, of Townsend Road, Minehead, claimed nearly £3,000 in housing and council tax benefits to which he was not entitled.
His fraud was conducted over a period of eight months this year, from March to October, after he failed to tell the council he had been working.
Khan carried on claiming housing and council tax benefits after finding work in March, and although the job ended in May, he found further employment in July and again failed to declare it to the council.
As a result, Khan received £2,168.38 in housing benefit and £698.44 in council tax benefit between March and October to which he was not entitled.
Khan pleaded guilty to the offences when he appeared before West Somerset magistrates.
The magistrates gave him credit for his guilty plea and the fact that Khan had already started to repay the overpayment.
They decided a community order was appropriate and sentenced Khan to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work.
After the case, West Somerset Council finance portfolio holder Councillor Doug Ross said: “It is essential that people claiming benefits report changes in their circumstances to our benefits team immediately.
“We are keen to help those facing genuine hardship, and encourage people in difficulty to seek our help and not to risk getting themselves into trouble.”

Second benefits cheat given 'slapped wrist' by magistrates

A SECOND West Somerset benefits cheat has been let off by magistrates after the district council took a prosecution to court.
Ian Ware, aged 41, of The Glebe, Timberscombe, claimed nearly £5,000 in housing benefit and council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
His fraud was committed over a 14-month period from February of last year to April of this year, during which time Ware dishonestly failed to notify the council of changes to his circumstances.
Despite having found work, Ware did not promptly tell the council and continued to receive a total of £3,704.27 in housing benefit and £1,097.31 in council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
Ware, who had since started to pay back the over-paid benefits at a rate of less than £10 a week, pleaded guilty to the offence.
The magistrates gave him credit for an early guilty plea and the fact he was already making some repayments to the council.
They conditionally discharged Ware for 12 months, which meant he would not be further punished if he kept out of trouble during that time.
The court did not make any order for compensation as arrangements were already in place.
Following the hearing, West Somerset Council finance portfolio holder, Councillor Doug Ross, appealed for the public to report anybody they suspected of dishonestly claiming benefits.
Councillor Ross said the council had a fraud hotline on 01984 635236 which people could call anonymously to tip off the authority’s benefits team.
He said: “It is made clear to benefits claimants that the responsibility to report changes in circumstances lies with them.
“Our benefits team is on hand to help anybody who may find themselves in difficult circumstances and we would advise people to contact the team if they need to.
“Failure to do so will lead to our fraud team taking action against people who are dishonestly claiming benefits to which they are not entitled.”

'Slapped wrist' for £1,600 Watchet benefits cheat

A BENEFITS cheat who dishonestly claimed more than £1,600 has been given a ‘slap on the wrist’ by West Somerset magistrates after the district council prosecuted him.
Eric Gitsham, aged 49, of Maglands Road, Watchet, pleaded guilty to failing to notify the council of a change in circumstances while he was receiving housing and council tax benefits.
By not declaring that his wife had been working during the 15 months from April of last year to July of this year, Gitsham was paid £1,377.02 in housing benefit and £251.02 in council tax benefit to which he was not entitled.
The magistrates gave Gitsham credit for making an early guilty plea and they took into account his current financial circumstances - both he and his wife were now unemployed.
Gitsham was conditionally discharged for 12 months, which meant he would not be further punished for the offence if he stayed out of trouble during that time.
A compensation order was also made for Gitsham to repay to the council the overpayment of benefit at £10 a week.
District council finance portfolio holder Councillor Doug Ross said after the court hearing: “People who break the law by claiming benefits they are not entitled to should be aware that our fraud team will take action against them.
“If convicted in court, they will also find themselves with a criminal record.
“It is vital that people claiming benefits report changes in their circumstances to our benefits team immediately, as we are here to help those facing hardship.
“If people suspect somebody of claiming benefits fraudulently, they can report them anonymously on our confidential benefit fraud hotline on 01984 635236.
“All the caller needs to do is leave the name of the person suspected and details of the alleged fraud.
“We can simply check out the details and if fraud is proven, we can act to stop hard-working taxpayers footing the bill for this criminal activity.”

EXCLUSIVE: Third teenager is charged after Tim Chilcott killing

A THIRD teenager has been charged with involvement in the killing of Minehead gardener Tim Chilcott.
The 18-year-old had been arrested at the time but was allowed bail while police continued to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mr Chilcott's death.
He was charged today (Friday, February 22) with the offence of affray and was named as David Hayes, who lives in Winsford.
Hayes is due to appear before magistrates sitting in Minehead on Friday, March 7.
Two other teenagers arrested with Hayes were subsequently charged with the more serious offence of manslaughter.
They are 19-year-old Sean Wylds, of Alcombe, Minehead, and a 16-year-old Porlock youth whose identity is protected by the law because of his age.
They are both due to make a second appearance in Exeter Crown Court on March 18.
Wylds has been remanded in custody, but the 16-year-old was given bail by the judge on condition he lived in the meantime with relatives in London and observed a nighttime curfew.
Mr Chilcott, aged 36, was found unconcious in Minehead town centre in the early hours of Sunday, January 20.
He died 36 hours later in Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, where he had been put on a life support machine.
Mr Chilcott, who lived with his elderly parents in Hillview Close, Minehead, had suffered severe head injuries. The results of a post mortem to determine the cause of death have not been released, because of the forthcoming trial.

Magistrates order Minehead manslaughter charge teenagers to be kept in custody

TWO young men have been kept in custody after appearing in court on charges of the manslaughter of 36-year-old Tim Chilcott, of Minehead.
Nineteen-year-old Shaun Wylds, of Lower Meadow Road, Alcombe, Minehead, and a 16-year-old, of Porlock, whom the law prevents from being identified, appeared before Taunton Deane magistrates sitting in Taunton this afternoon, Tuesday, January 22.
They were accused of killing Mr Chilcott, who suffered serious head injuries in an early-hours attack in Minehead town centre on Sunday and who died in hospital 36 hours later after being on a life-support machine.
Applications by their solicitors for the pair to be freed on bail were refused by the magistrates and they were instead remanded in custody.
Wylds and his co-defendant will now appear in Exeter Crown Court next Tuesday, January 29.
A third man arrested in connection with the killing of Mr Chilcott was released on police bail pending further inquiries before today's court hearing. He is 18-years-old.

Teenagers face manslaughter charges after Minehead attack man dies

TWO of three teenagers arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a Minehead man in a street fight at the weekend were appearing in court today, Tuesday, January 22.
Nineteen-year-old Sean Wylds, of Minehead, and a 16-year-old youth who cannot be named because the law protects the identity of those under 18 years, were facing reduced charges of manslaughter as they appeared before magistrates in Taunton.
They had been held in custody at Minehead Police Station since Monday, when 36-year-old Tim Chilcott (pictured) died from injuries he received in the incident.
A third youth, aged 18 years, was also held in custody but was later released on police bail pending furter inquiries.
Mr Chilcott suffered serious head injuries in an attack which was thought to have started outside Minehead's Wellington Hotel and then continued through The Parade and into Blenheim Road, where he collapsed unconscious at about 1 am on Sunday.
He was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, where he was put on a life support machine, but he died at mid-day on Monday.
Mr Chilcott, who was a self-employed gardener, lived in the Periton area of Minehead. His parents live in Hillview Close, Minehead.
A Home Office pathologist was due later today to carry out a post mortem on Mr Chilcott at Southmead Hospital, in Bristol, to determine how he died.

Judge overturns first Exmoor hunting conviction

THE first huntsman to be prosecuted under the Hunting Act, Tony Wright, of the Exmoor Foxhounds, has had his conviction overturned on appeal.
Mr Wright, aged 53, had been found guilty in August of last year by magistrates sitting in Barnstaple of breaching section one of the Act while leading the foxhounds at Drybridge, in Devon.
The prosecution was brought by the League Against Cruel Sports, which said a hunt on April 29, 2005, allowed the hounds a ‘prolonged period of pursuit’ of a fox on two occasions.
Under the Act, all that is lawful is the exercising of hounds, chasing a scent trail, and flushing out foxes to be shot.
Mr Wright, of Exmoor Kennels, Simonsbath, was fined £500 by the magistrates and ordered to pay £250 costs.
But now, at an appeal heard in Exeter Crown Court on Friday, November 30, the conviction has been quashed.
Judge Graham Cottle allowed the appeal and said he was satisfied Mr Wright reasonably believed he had put in place safeguards which he thought would ensure compliance with the Act.
The Exmoor is one of only two fox hunts to have been prosecuted successfully.
More people have been convicted of hunting rats under the Act than have been found guilty of illegal fox hunting.
Countryside Alliance chief executive Simon Hart said: “This verdict is an absolute vindication of Tony Wright and the Exmoor Foxhounds and another nail in the coffin of the Hunting Act.
“While we celebrate this judgment, however, we must not forget why an innocent man faced with a vindictive private prosecution has had to spend over two years and two court cases to clear his name.
“The Hunting Act is not only a pointless and prejudiced piece of legislation, it is also a very bad law.
“If the courts cannot be sure what is hunting and what is not, how on earth can anybody else.
“Only by scrapping the Act can we ensure that other innocent people will not be persecuted and today’s result adds to the clear case for its repeal.”
The case has cost the League more than £100,000 to pursue, after Avon and Somerset Police refused to prosecute based on the available evidence.
Mr Wright was ‘delighted’ with the appeal result and said afterwards the Hunting Act was a ‘very difficult law to interpret’ and ‘probably not very well written for people like myself to understand’.
For the League, Mike Hobday, head of its prosecution unit, said: “We shall be taking urgent legal advice about the prospects of appealing on some of the findings of law.”
Mr Hobday described the appeal result as ‘deeply surprising’ and said he was ‘shocked and disappointed’ at the legal interpretation of the Hunting Act.

• Our photograph shows an image from a video of an Exmoor Foxhounds hunt used by the League in its prosecution. Photo submitted.

Man to appear in court on Minehead handgun charges

A MAN in his 40s has been charged in connection with a police hunt for a gunman in Minehead last month.
Forty-one-year-old Paul Bradley, of no fixed abode, is due to appear before West Somerset magistrates to face two charges.
Bradley was arrested when police were called to the Irnham Lodge Medical Centre, in Townsend Road, Minehead, after a two-and-a-half-hour search for a man reported to have been seen with a handgun in the Market House Cafe, in The Avenue.
He has now been charged with possessing an imitation firearm in a public place and also with failing to surrender to police or court bail.
Bradley is due to appear in the magistrates court in Minehead on Friday, November 16.