London fly-tippers appear in King’s Lynn court after dumping waste on Castle Acre farmland

Two fly-tippers who travelled to Norfolk from London have escaped with a “relatively small fine” due to their immigration status.

Hansrajsinh Zala and Hemraj Krishna, both aged 33, were caught red-handed while dumping cardboard, wood and electrical items onto Castle Acre farmland on January 10.

They parked up in a lay-by off the A1065 just metres from unmarked police car, with officers witnessing Zala approach a hedge and throw the rubbish into the field.

Krishna remained by the pair’s white van, handing Zala items to discard.

When confronted, Zala began trying to pick up the items and said: “Sorry officer.”

However, both men were arrested and taken into custody. They appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where they pleaded guilty to depositing controlled waste on land without an environmental permit.

Mitigating, duty solicitor George Sorrell told the court that Krishna, of Park Ridings in London, is in the UK as an asylum seeker.

However, he has withdrawn his application as he wishes to return to Malaysia to care for his unwell mother.

“He is, at the moment, waiting for a passport to enable him to travel,” Mr Sorrell said.

“Mr Zala had a visa to live in this country with his wife. That visa has expired, and the immigration authorities have seen him,” he added.

“They are satisfied that he should remain ‘on bail’, essentially.

“Neither of them has any income, as they can’t work.”

These details provided magistrates with a conundrum, as they could not hand the pair large fines due to their means, but community orders could have proven difficult to manage if one or both of them leave the country.

“They are not criminal by nature,” Mr Sorrell added.

“They were moving some items in the van on behalf of an uncle, who is moving to Dereham, when they passed through Castle Acre.

“They looked into the hedge and saw that there were items which someone else had already dumped there. They thought they would add to that.

“Both are utterly remorseful for their actions. They tell me that they come from a part of the world where it is normal practice to dump rubbish here, there and everywhere.

“They are utterly ashamed of themselves.”

Magistrates ultimately decided to hand Krishna and Zala, of Victor Grove in Wembley, Greater London, a “relatively small fine”.

They will both pay £80, as well as a £32 victim surcharge, but no court costs due to their means.

“They made a mistake,” Mr Sorrell said.

“They did what a lot of people think they can do, which is to dump rubbish in circumstances where they are not likely to be caught - but in this case, the police did catch them.”