A Milford Haven man who has repeatedly refused to clear piles of waste from his home has admitted breaching a court order.
Pembrokeshire County Council prosecuted Gavin James after requests to remove accumulated waste and rubbish at the property were again ignored.
James had failed to appear for a previous court hearing and was arrested following the issue of a no bail warrant and appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrate’s Court on 30 September when the case was adjourned for a probation report to be prepared.
Before Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday October 14, James pleaded guilty to breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO).
The CBO had been ordered by the magistrate’s court following a successful prosecution and conviction for non-compliances with the Community Protection Notice which had been served upon him on 10 April 2024.
Magistrates were told that the case goes back to 2020 and despite repeated interventions and offers of assistance, James has ignored all requests to clear the accumulated waste. Previous court hearings have been told that the waste had attracted rats.
The Court imposed a 12-month community order with 15 Rehabilitation Days and a 12-month mental health treatment requirement.
Should James continue to ignore requests to clear up the waste, an ongoing failure to comply with the CBO brings the possibility of James being prosecuted again with the option available to the court of a custodial sentence being imposed.
James, aged 47, was fined £120, and must pay a victim surcharge of £113 plus costs of £437.
Cllr Jacob Williams, Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, said: “It brings the Council no pleasure to take Mr James to court again. Our aim throughout this long-running case has been to secure the removal of the waste from the property, as it is causing a real nuisance and public health risk. Unfortunately this didn’t happen, and previous court action failed to solve the problem.
“We always try to work with residents to help secure the right outcome, but in rare cases like this where compliance is not reached, we have to take further action to help protect the whole community.
“Where the offenders are Council tenants, we also consider the future of the tenancy in liaison with the authority’s housing service colleagues, because aside from the more obvious health and safety implications, accumulations of waste can severely impact neighbours’ quality of life.”
