A man from Ilford had his van crushed and was given a curfew after being caught fly-tipping twice in Barking and Dagenham.

Florian Gigel Mircea, of Lowbrook Road, was taken to court after it was discovered he had been offering paid “man with a van” rubbish collection then dumping the waste illegally.

On September 30, 2019, Barking and Dagenham Council officers found a large fly-tip - weighing roughly between 1.5 and 2 tonnes - including loose, bagged and bulky waste.

They found a box among the rubbish that contained a delivery note addressed to someone in Ley Street.

When council officers visited that person on October 5, he admitted that half of the rubbish was his and that he had paid a man named Florian to dispose of it.

Barking and Dagenham Post: A large fly-tip in River Road, Barking found by council enforcement officersA large fly-tip in River Road, Barking found by council enforcement officers (Image: LBBD)

As the Ley Street resident didn’t check the credentials of this “man with a van” and only had a name and phone number, he was handed a £200 fine.

An enforcement officer then called the number and told Mr Mircea that the council was investigating illegally dumped rubbish and had evidence that he had collected it.

Mr Mircea admitted collecting it but claimed he had then passed it on to other people.

However, when the officer asked for more details, he said he had to go and hung up.

A few weeks later, the council received footage from a resident that captured two men fly-tipping a large amount of rubbish from the back of a van on Castle Road, Dagenham.

A phone number on the side of the van matched Mr Mircea’s and, after checks were made on the vehicle, officers found out his full name and address.

On November 13, council officers and police visited his home around 7.30am and found the van, then identified the man from the footage when he came outside a short time later.

He was told his vehicle would be seized under the Environmental Protection Act and the council would be prosecuting him.

Earlier this month, at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court, Mr Mircea was given a community order that requires him to be at his property between 7pm and 7am for one month.

He was also banned from driving for a month and ordered to pay costs £390.

The council says his van has also been crushed to ensure it isn’t used for fly-tipping again.

Cllr Syed Ghani, cabinet member for enforcement and community safety, said: "This shows we will use all the powers we have to take action against those who want to dump on our streets."