A fly-tipper who was spotted dumping tyres in a Mapperley layby claimed to be his own twin in a bid to avoid prosecution, a court has heard.
Paul Henry of Harmston Rise, Nottingham, disposed of 14 tyres on a layby in Mapperley on Valentine’s Day last year, which was witnessed by a member of the public who contacted Gedling Borough Council with a description of Henry and the number plate of the vehicle he used to dump the goods.
The council’s investigation took nearly 10 months as the Neighbourhood Wardens traced the vehicle back to the owner, invited Mr Henry to the council for interview and despite Mr Henry’s attempts to divert the wardens which included giving old addresses and even claiming to be his own twin, the wardens persevered, working with the Police and Department of Work and Pensions, to help find Mr Henry and serve him the court papers.
He attended Nottingham Magistrates’ Court and pleaded not guilty to the offence. At the trial, the member of the public who witnessed the event stated that he saw black items being thrown out of the back of the van into a ditch, which Mr Henry denied but was later found guilty.
Mr Henry was convicted and sentenced to wear an electronic tag and comply with a curfew order for eight weeks from 8pm to 7am daily. He was also ordered to pay £460 prosecution costs, £250 costs for the clean-up of the fly-tip and a £60 victim surcharge.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said: “This is a great example of a member of the public standing up against fly tippers. If it wasn’t for the testimony of the witness and the excellent investigative work of our wardens, we would have struggled to get a conviction.
“We hope this will show people that if they do see something, tell us and we will do everything we can to prosecute these people.”
