A COUNCILLOR has called for tougher punishment on environmental issues after a man who illegally dumped waste had his sentence reduced.

Wycombe Magistrates gave Balachandran Ravichandran, 22, of Woodlands Road, Southall, west London, a community order of 40 hours unpaid work, instead of 60 due to the early guilty plea he entered on October 3. He had dumped the rubbish off the A40 London Road at Beaconsfield on Christmas Eve 2006.

Councillor Bill Lidgate, South Bucks District Council's cabinet member for environment, said: "It is a pity that magistrates feel that admitting to the crime warrants a more lenient sentence.

"This anti-social activity is a blight on our countryside and a drain on everyone's pocket. The courts should be handing out punishment accordingly."

The court heard how a woman who witnessed what happened made a note of the vehicle registration number and the company details on the van, and also took photos on her mobile phone.

Ravichandran, owner of the vehicle, was interviewed by enforcement officers from the Waste Partnership for Buckinghamshire. He admitted to dumping the waste but stated that he had been under pressure with the Christmas rush on his business.

The magistrates reduced the initial sentence from 60 hours as the defendant co-operated fully with the investigation and made an early guilty plea.

He was ordered to pay prosecution costs of £1,071.15.

Cllr Lidgate added: "This is another example of the illegal dumper being brought to justice in Buckinghamshire. However, offenders can be fined up to £50,000 and I urge the magistrates to impose stronger penalties to continue deterring people from fly tipping in our county."

If you see anyone dumping waste illegally in Bucks, you can report it in on the illegal dumping reporting hotline on 0845 330 1856.