Armley man jailed after being caught fly-tipping in Pudsey while working as a waste removal man

Martin Hughes, Town Street, Armley, was operating a commercial waste removal business without the appropriate licenses throughout 2018 and 2019, an investigation found.

During this time he dumped commercial and household waste illegally across Leeds.

Due to evidence linking Hughes to multiple incidents of fly tipping in the Pudsey area, council officers put CCTV cameras at the fly tip hotspot location.

The CCTV camera recorded waste being dumped from the Mr Hughes’ van on a further two occasions at the same location.

Further evidence was also found linking Mr Hughes to other incidents of fly tipping.

Following the Mr Hughes’ van being spotted by council officers in September 2019, the vehicle was seized, a search of the vehicle found it to be full of household waste including sofas, wood, and garden waste.

As the impounded van had little recoverable value and Mr Hughes did not come forward to claim it, the van was crushed and scrapped.

Hughes pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 at Leeds Crown Court on Monday, February 7.

He was sentenced to 15-months in prison.

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Housing, said: “Flytipping is recognised as a national issue.

"However, Leeds City Council has a very clear message: we will not tolerate fly tipping in Leeds and will continue to prosecute anyone who believes that they can flout the rules and blight our communities and environment. It is pleasing to see the courts using their custodial sentencing power to show that fly tipping is not worth the price.

“We have recently announced the establishment of a new Serious Environment Crime Team, which will allow the council to dedicate even more time investigating and tracking down those waste collection companies and individuals who are illegally operating and creating many of the flytips that occur in Leeds.”

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