Man fined after hedge grew round his dumped van

Arkadiusz Zborowski is now more than £1,700 out of pocket after he was fined and ordered to pay the costs of an MK council prosecution.

Milton Keynes magistrates heard the 39-year-old left his red Iveco van in a parking bay on Fishermead Boulevard.

It remained there for so long that by the time officers from the council’s Environmental Crime Unit found it, a “hedge was growing around it”, the court was told.

The officers made enquiries and discovered that the vehicle was registered to an address in Fishermead.

A notice placed on the van gave the owner time to remove it. When he failed to do so, the officers arranged for the vehicle to be removed and destroyed.

Mr Zborowski, who now lives in Northampton, was found guilty in his absence of abandoning a van under the Environmental Protection Act 1990,

He was fined £440 and ordered to pay Milton Keynes Council £1264.72 in costs and compensation.

Environmental Crime Unit Team Leader Pete Roberts said: “We are pleased that magistrates are sending a strong message to those who believe it is OK to leave end-of-life vehicles sitting in public parking areas.

“It is a simple enough matter to scrap a car – dealers will often come and pick a car up if it’s a non-runner.”