Four people have been told to pay out nearly £4,000 after dumping large amounts of rubbish in Epping Forest and Wanstead Park.

The City of London Corporation, which protects the sites as a charitable trust, prosecuted the men at Chelmsford and Barkingside magistrates courts under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Mihail-Alexandru Cricon, of Wanstead Park Road, Ilford, was fined £1,953 for dumping 12 bin bags of rubbish in Wanstead Park. Mr Cricon gave false details to investigators but was tracked down and the case has left him with a criminal record.

Baryal Nasser of Cogan Avenue, Waltham Forest, and Imran Fardos, of Goodwin Road, Forest Gate, were fined £1,008 between them for a fly tip at Rushey Plain car park. They were caught using a transit van to dump a load of domestic rubbish.

Paul Daden of Royston Avenue, Chingford, was fined £1,008 for discarding builders’ waste at Fernhall Lane, Epping Forest.

The City Corporation has prosecuted 13 people for fly-tipping who have been fined a total of £12,000 this year.

Epping Forest is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation and one of the few remaining extensive natural woodlands in southern England.

Illegal fly tipping at the site has increased during the pandemic and continues to rise.

The growing cost of removing fly-tips and litter has forced the Epping Forest charity to divert £440,000 each year away from managing the Forest for public recreation and wildlife conservation to simply disposing of waste.

Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Epping Forest and Commons Committee, Graeme Doshi-Smith, said:

“Epping Forest is vitally important to the health and wellbeing of millions of people and we will do everything in our power to protect it.

“As the ‘green lungs of London’, Epping Forest is of national conservation importance and we will prosecute anyone found dumping rubbish at the site.”

“Fly tipping is a crime which damages the environment and wastes resources that could be better used to enhance the forest.”

The City Corporation is encouraging people to report Epping Forest fly-tippers to 020 8532 1010.*

Epping Forest as a registered charity relies on the public for income and donations to protect the People’s Forest.

Alongside this, it receives more than £4m a year from the City of London Corporation to help deliver an outstanding environment attracting 4.5 million visits annually.

The City Corporation protects over 11,000 acres of open space in London and south east England – including Hampstead Heath and Burnham Beeches - and over 200 smaller ones in the Square Mile, investing over £38m a year.

These sites, most of which are charitable trusts, are run at little or no cost to the communities that they serve. They include important wildlife habitats, Special Areas of Conservation, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, and National Nature Reserves. They are protected from being built on by special legislation.

ENDS

* Witnesses to fly tipping are advised not to approach or confront suspects, however if possible discreetly take photographs of any suspect or vehicle. If this is not possible, make a note of any vehicle registration number and suspect description as soon as possible after the incident. Please retain these original notes.

Notes to Editors:

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

Epping Forest is London and Essex’s largest green space and has been owned and managed by the City of London Corporation since 1878.

It is home to Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge, a unique example of a surviving timber-framed hunt standing, built on the orders of Henry VIII in 1543.

The woodland has over one million trees, some of which are up to 1,000 years old – including 50,000 ancient pollards of Beech, Hornbeam and Oak.

There are around 500 rare and endangered plant, fungi and insect species in the Forest.

Media enquires

Kristina Drake

Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

07528256363