Witness catches flytipper in the act

Anyone who witnesses flytipping incidents are being urged to come forward after a recent prosecution was secured from an eyewitness report.

Andrew Hudson, St Andrews Drive, Featherstone, pleaded guilty to flytipping and was fined a total of £600 last week.

Hudson was spotted dumping a mattress from a trailer in a wooded area off the A63 near Mickelfield in May 2015.

The eagle-eyed member of the public reported the incident to Leeds City Council and provided environmental action officers with an official witness statement.

Having gathered photographic evidence of the dumped mattress, environmental action officers traced Hudson.

Along with the witness statement, environmental action officers were able to prosecute.

Hudson apologised for his actions, removed the mattress and disposed of it properly.

Even with Hudson’s apology, early plea, willingness to work with the council and removing the mattress, the magistrate still viewed the initial flytip as a serious offence.

Hudson was fined £200, ordered to pay £200 costs, £180 criminal court charge and £20 victim surcharge.

Councillor Mark Dobson, executive member for environmental protection and community safety, said:

“People rightly want us to take action against flytippers and we’ll do everything in our power to track and hold people to account for their irresponsible actions.

“However, we need people to come forward and not just report what they have seen but to give us a witness statement that then allows us to build a case with a view to prosecuting.

“Working with people and communities in this way means we can take positive and decisive action to tackle flytipping.”