An odd job man who dumped rubbish at a beauty spot popular with walkers and ramblers has been ordered to pay over £2,200 in fines and clean-up costs.

Bilal Ata Alfroh, 21, of Denison Street, Manchester, pleaded guilty to one charge of fly-tipping and one case of loss of control of commercial waste when his case was brought before Kirklees Magistrates’ Court in Huddersfield.

On April 24 2020, a witness spotted a man in a white van throw a duvet into a gully off Wessenden Head Road in Meltham.

The witness was able to take down the van’s number plate along with a description of the individual, and reported the incident to Kirklees Council. Using the information provided, officers were able to track the vehicle down to Alfroh.

A month later, council investigators were called to the A635 Greenfield Road near Saddleworth Moor, usually a popular beauty spot for walkers, to investigate a large fly tip.

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Amongst the rubbish, investigators found several items linking the waste to Leo’s Fish Bar, a takeaway in Manchester city centre. When interviewed, the owner of the fish bar explained the shop’s basement had recently been cleared out.

After seeing Alfroh’s social media advert as an odd job and removal man, the owner had paid him £700 to remove the waste.

At his hearing, Alfroh admitted to collecting the waste, but claimed an unnamed colleague then dumped it at the remote location without his knowledge.

He was fined £800 plus a victim surcharge of £40 and ordered to pay £1,400 for waste clearance and legal costs.

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In a separate case two men were fined for dumping a toilet and other waste at a beauty spot in New Mill

Clr Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I’d like to thank the people reporting these fly-tipping events to us and helping with our successful investigation and would encourage others who may witnesses a fly-tipper to do the same.

“Any information you can give us; a description of the person or vehicle, the time and location of the event, will all help us to take action.

“Everyone has a duty of care to ensure their waste is disposed of legally. Sadly, as seen in this case, rogue traders can use social media as a way of advertising waste services – usually at a cheaper price – to get people to part with their cash. People then later discover their rubbish has been fly-tipped.

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“Responsible waste carriers will be registered and operate in line with a set of rules that protect the environment and the customers that hire them. It’s quick and easy to check if someone is a registered waste carrier with the Environment Agency.”

Before hiring someone to remove waste, check credentials online at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers