A man and his nephew have been convicted of dumping several tonnes of construction waste on to derelict land.

Thomas Stokes, 51, and Brian Stokes, 32, were caught on CCTV dumping four full loads of rubbish from a black and white tipper truck.

The pair illegally dumped the waste from house renovations at Stonehill Business Park in Edmonton in 2017.

They emptied the materials on to the former auction site twice in just over an hour before driving off.

The waste dumped by the Stokes pair could not be accurately weighed as the fly-tipping site had also been used illegally by others for several months.

Tottenham Independent:

The Environment Agency are continuing to investigate the other waste on the site.

It said that: "The operation highlights the fact that there is a really significant issue here."

Officers seized the Stokes' van at a pub in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, before crushing it in January 2018 to prevent them from dumping waste again.

Both uncle and nephew were in Ealing Magistrates’ Court on June 11.

Thomas Stokes was sentenced to four months in prison which was suspended for a year.

He now has to to complete 100 hours unpaid community work and pay £500 in costs as well as a victim surcharge of £85.

Tottenham Independent:

Brian Stokes was told he would face prison if he visited any illegal waste site within the next ten years or if he offered to take away someone else's waste within the same time period.

Like his uncle he was also ordered to pay costs of £500 and a victim surcharge of £85.

The convictions came as part of "Operation Angola". The joint effort by the Environment Agency and various other agencies to target gangs of criminals who dump significant amounts of waste across the South East.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "These people have absolutely no interest in protecting the environment.

"You can see that not just by Stokes and Stokes but from the other waste that was dumped on the site.

"They undercut legitimate waste disposal companies and they look genuine but they are not.

"What we would say to members of the public is if someone offers to take their waste away ask them where it is going - that is the simplest thing."