A man from west Suffolk has been fined £1,720 for dumping old furniture on farmland near Long Melford.

Braintree District Council successfully took legal action against Andrew Murphy, of East Street, Sudbury, for the “unauthorised deposit of waste” on land off an unnamed road in the village of Liston, on the Suffolk/Essex border.

On June 26, Mr Murphy was seen throwing items from a hire van onto a field which is contrary to Section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The witness took photographs of the waste and the vehicle being used, and then reported the offence to the district council’s environmental protection team.

The fly-tipped material consisted of items of wooden furniture.

Mr Murphy subsequently refused to return any correspondence or attend an interview under caution.

He was then summoned to Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on November 5 where he pleaded not guilty to the offence.

A trial was held on Monday.

At the trial, the bench heard evidence from the witness and was provided with evidence from council officers.

Mr Murphy was found guilty and was ordered to pay a fine and costs totalling £1,720.

A Braintree District Council spokesman said the “clarity and credibility of the witness evidence” have proved invaluable to the council’s case.

He added fly-tipping would not be tolerated.

“This case shows that it is simply not acceptable to dump things you no longer want in our district and spoil the environment for everyone else, “ he said. “We’d like to thank the witness who helped us to take this action.”