40 vehicles stopped in crackdown along the A27 and A26

The driver of the Ireland-based National Vehicle Distribution lorry was handed a £100 fixed penalty notice by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and had to pay an £80 immobilisation fee. Three points were put on his driving licence.

PC Jay Denney, of Lewes neighbourhood policing team, who was part of the operation said the tyre was “incredibly dangerous” and “ready to go pop at any minute”.

Police, council and government officials spent five hours checking 40 vehicles stopped along the A27 at Beddingham near Lewes and on the A26 in South Heighton near Newhaven yesterday.

They looked for fly tippers, those who were failing to transport waste properly or who were committing other road traffic offences.

Tests for using illegal and laundered fuel like red diesel and kerosene were also carried out.

Fuel was syphoned from the tank for a quick chemical check which looked for signs in the liquid which proved it was legitimate and duty tax had been paid. It is not illegal to buy red diesel or kerosene, but it is illegal to use it in the fuel tank of most vehicles on the road. Those caught doing this could face hefty fines.

Lewes District Council enforcement officer Robin Fuller, who led the operation, said: “First we want to raise awareness, advise drivers and educate them. If that fails we would issue an official warning and then prosecute.

“We have worked hard to reduce the amount of fly tipping in the area. It was 600 reports a year eight years ago, it was 143 last year.

“This is against the national trend which is up. If you pay someone to take away your waste and they offer to do it for something like £25, that’s not legitimate.

“To do it properly it costs around £140.”

A driver of a citreon van was stopped for carrying waste from Tunbridge Wells to Eastbourne without the licence he needed from the Environment Agency.

He was given 14 days to register as a waste carrier and will be prosecuted by the council if he fails to do so.

He told Mr Fuller he did not realise he needed a licence for carrying small amounts of waste.

Four trucks did not have netting to protect their load including two from RJ Dances Contractors Ltd.

The company holds a contract with Brighton and Hove City Council but was carrying out a private removal job between Eastbourne and Poynings at the time of being stopped.

Some were fastened with straps or rope but Mr Fuller said this was not secure enough and could mean if it was windy, or vehicles had to brake suddenly or crashed the heavy objects, which included concrete blocks, a bed and a television set, could fly off and smash into the car behind.

Driver Stephen Bartlett, was stopped in a Veolia lorry which was transporting food waste to Lewes but passed all the checks.

He supported the operation, adding: "I spend all day on the roads, five or six days a week. I see fly tipping all the time."

The driver of a lorry with a worn tyre was also served with a notice for it to be replaced within seven days or face prosecution by the DVSA. Another was stopped for having a broken indicator lens. 

Mr Fuller said the operation - which included fuel testing for the first time - was successful and of “great value” and similar crackdown campaigns are planned in future.

Story so far

LAST year a 25-year-old man was told to pay £900 for dumping household waste in an industrial estate.

Jamie Tanner, of no fixed address in Eastbourne, was prosecuted by Lewes District Council after fly tipping in Hoyle Road, Peacehaven in August 2015.

Evidence found in the rubbish led investigators to a house in Southview Road, Peacehaven. The owner said he had employed Tanner to clear the property for £550. He admitted the offence at Eastbourne Magistrates' Court in March last year, was sentenced to 80 hours of unpaid work and had to pay prosecution costs of £902.48 and a victim surcharge of £60.

The council had 152 reports of fly tipping in the district in 2015 to 2016 and 143 in the last year.