Council Gets Tough on Dumper

A habitual fly-tipper has been taught a lesson he is unlikely to forget in a hurry after officials seized a Mitsubishi 4×4 he had used during his illicit operations and put it through a crusher. Council bosses in Wigan approved this drastic measure against the trader suspected of dumping car tyres in a number of locations around the Wigan area.

This is the first occasion that officials in Greater Manchester have used tough new powers to tackle the problem of fly-tipping and they hope it will act as a warning to anyone tempted to dump rubbish on public land.

The action against the un-named fly tipper began after receiving news that a contractor was operating a lucrative scheme in which he garages paid cash to have their waste tyres disposed of without a licence, and then he simply dumped them in various locations to avoid paying tipping fees.

The first sighting of the offender at work was in March 2006 when a member of the public saw a man driving a Mitsubishi Shogun dumping tyres near the an industrial estate.

Months later a man in the same vehicle was seen twice in three days dumping tyres on public land. Once council staff knew the culprit’s registration number a warrant was issued for it and police speed cameras were used to monitor its activities.

In November Wigan Council used its powers to seize the vehicle in an operation at an address in Leyland, Lancashire. Officials were satisfied that they could prove the vehicle was involved in the fly-tipping but did not have sufficient evidence to show who was driving it at the time the rubbish was dumped.

The owner of the car was given the opportunity to come forward with documentation to reclaim his vehicle but he chose not to, so on February 7 the car was put into a crusher at a Bolton breaker’s yard and reduced to a heap of crumpled metal.

Dave Bithell, of Wigan council, said “The law allows us to take a vehicle that’s been used for fly-tipping. We can seize it to examine it and if it isn’t claimed we can destroy the vehicle, as in this case.

“The owner knew where the vehicle was and we believe he may have contacted us before changing his mind.” The Vehicle was worth approximately £18,000 when new. The maximum sentence for fly-tipping is a fine of up to £50,000 or a five-year jail term.