A 43-year-old man from Peterlee has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 after a hidden camera caught him dumping a wheelie bin full of rubbish in County Durham. Lee Garthwaite, of Cheviot Place, pleaded guilty at Peterlee Magistrates Court to leaving waste without permission and failing to help with an official investigation.
The incident took place at a substation in the Sunny Blunts area, where surveillance footage showed Garthwaite leaving an overflowing green wheelie bin and black bin bags before driving away. Durham County Council wardens brought the case to court after he failed to respond to their questions or attend an interview about the rubbish.
Garthwaite was told to pay a £200 fine, £747 in legal costs, and an £80 victim surcharge on 26 March 2026, totalling £1,027. This prosecution follows a decision by the council to increase on-the-spot fines for illegal dumping to £1,000 in May 2024 to discourage people from leaving household waste in public spaces.
The local authority uses hidden cameras and joint patrols with the Durham Constabulary and the Environment Agency to catch people dumping rubbish. According to data from GOV.UK, household waste made up 62 per cent of the 1.26 million dumping incidents recorded across England in 2024 and 2025.
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