Man fined over fly-tipping incident

A man from Halifax "assumed it was alright" to dump waste on a road in Bradford because other people had done the same.

Craig Atter was sentenced on Friday after fly-tipping on St Dunstan's Way on the outskirts of the city centre in June last year and was ordered to pay over £1,200.

The chair of the bench at Bradford Magistrate's Court told him fly-tipping was a "despicable" offence which caused "a blight on the communities of West Yorkshire".

Atter, 60, of Holywell Green, Halifax, had pleaded guilty to the offence on his first appearance.

The court was told that Bradford Council's environmental enforcement team received a complaint about waste being dumped on the street, off Ripley Street, on 24 June.

Officers scoured CCTV from the area and found footage of Atter's Ford Transit van and a Nissan Juke pulling up on the street on 14 June.

Two men then began throwing waste, including building waste and plaster boards, over a wall at the side of the street.

The CCTV, showed the incident lasted around five minutes, was shown in court, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council traced the vehicles to Atter and when contacted he accepted liability for the tipping and was issued a £300 fixed penalty notice in August.

By October the fine had not been paid, and the council took further action.

Waseem Raja, prosecuting on behalf of Bradford Council, said: "He tells me he tried to make the payment in instalments, but that couldn't be accommodated.

"I can see that right from the start he has been contrite, apologetic and remorseful.

"The defendant said he knew this area and knew that waste was already there.

"He assumed that because of this it was alright for him to throw waste there. I have explained to him that this is not the case."

Representing himself, Atter told the court: "It won't happen again."

He was ordered to pay £857 costs to Bradford Council, a £120 court surcharge and was also fined £300.

Chair of the bench Mr Knight said: "We have a responsibility to the public of West Yorkshire to keep communities safe and free from waste and fly-tipping.

"Fly tipping is a despicable offence, causing a blight on the communities of West Yorkshire.

"We could seize the vehicle and have it crushed or disqualify you from driving."

He added as a first-time offender, Atter wouldn't be subject to those conditions, but if he were to appear before the court again "that is the most likely course of action."

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