Fly-tipper caught red-handed on CCTV

A fly-tipper was caught on CCTV dumping old car parts at a rubbish hotspot near a landmark Midland pub, a court heard.

A bare-chested Fred Price was seen unloading scrap car parts from a van parked directly beneath a secret camera set up to clamp down on the problem.

Price aged 26, of Oak Lane, Kingswinford, was sentenced to four months in prison suspended for 12 months by Cannock magistrates.

He pleaded guilty to disposing of controlled waste without authority and driving while disqualified and without insurance at a previous hearing.

Magistrates warned Price he had only narrowly escaped being sent to jail. His driving ban was also extended for another 12 months.

The court was told Price had been caught by covert CCTV cameras dumping car parts in a layby in Coppice Mill Road, Himley, near to the Crooked House pub.

Miss Vernice Archer-Dyer, prosecuting for Staffordshire County Council said the spot was notorious for fly-tipping. "These were covert cameras installed for this very purpose," she said.

"A council officer discovered the old car parts, mainly old bumpers, and accessed the information from the camera.

"The parts had been tipped directly under the camera and showed the defendant then driving away in a Ford Transit van."

She said Price had been traced through his number plate and had been interviewed by police on July 8. Miss Archer-Dyer said when shown the footage during interview he had admitted he was the man in the film.

"He stated he had gone back to remove it but this was only following a letter from the council telling him of the investigation."

Miss Sonia Durrant-Clarke, prosecuting the driving charge for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Price had been disqualified from the driving at the time.

Mr Suresh Joshi, defending, said Price had been driving his motorbike off-road when it had broken down.

"He called a friend to bring the van to carry the bike away. When he opened the back he found it was full of the bumpers.

"In order to make space for the bike he took out the bumpers and then drove home. He did return and remove them."

Chairman of magistrates Mrs Barbara Cartwright said it was a blatant disregard for the law. And she said the amount of car parts left had been substantial. "These are two very serious matters and have tipped the scales over into a custodial sentence.

"However we are willing to suspend it on this occasion. The fly-tipping matter is also a concern. What if children had got into it?"

After the hearing leader of South Staffordshire Council Councillor Brian Edwards said: "There has been a history of fly-tipping in this area which is why we placed the covert cameras there and it's really paid off."