TWO men have been fined more than £2,500 after illegally dumping waste in Gerrards Cross.

Matthew Lee Small, 34, of Pullmans Place, Staines, and Daniel Jason Gibbons, 31, of Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, were convicted in Wycombe Magistrates Court of illegally dumping household waste.

The court heard that on March 3 Small had hired a van as part of moving house. Together with Gibbons he drove to the A413, Amersham Road, Gerrards Cross, and dumped a wardrobe and a fridge in a field.

Two members of the public witnessed the incident and reported it to the council. Small and Gibbons were then interviewed by Waste Enforcement Officers.

Both men pleaded guilty to the offence at the hearing recently and the magistrates fined each £600. Gibbons was ordered to pay £712.50 in costs and Small £712 in costs.

The Waste Partnership launched the Illegal Dumping Costs' campaign in November 2003 to combat illegal dumping and waste management related offences in Bucks.

Councillor Martin Tett, chairman of the waste committee for Buckinghamshire said: "This was an unnecessary criminal act by these two men, who have now landed themselves a criminal record.

"If people are going to hire vans to help with the removal of their waste, there are a few simple steps to take which include contacting Buckinghamshire County Council's Permit Scheme. The Permit Scheme for vans is free and therefore there can be no excuses. The alternative to a small amount of planning and administration is very costly, as we have seen in this case."

Bill Lidgate, portfolio holder for environment at South Bucks District Council, said: "I would like to thank the public again for their support in this prosecution. It is the decent citizens across the county who are witnessing this type of environmental crime and reporting it to the authorities again and again.

"It is nice to see the magistrates imposing tougher penalties on these offenders; however this is still lower than what they could do."

The partnership has now secured 80 convictions against individuals and companies for illegal dumping and similar offences. If a person sees anyone dumping waste illegally in Buckinghamshire, they can report it on the illegal dumping reporting hotline on 0845 330 1856. The van permit scheme can be contacted on 01296 387828.