Halifax man fined for fly tipping

Craig Atter was recently sentenced for dumping waste on St Dunstan’s Way near the city centre and was fined £1,200.

Atter, aged 60 from Holywell Green, Halifax, had pleaded guilty on the charges put against him. After the court rejected Atter’s defence, which had argued that Atter found it publicly acceptable.

The court was told last June that Braford’s Council’s Environmental Environment team received a complaint with regards to fly tipping on the street off Ripley Street. Via CCTV, officers were able to track footage of Atter’s Ford Transit van and a Nissan Juke pulling up on the street on June 14.

It was later said that two adult men were seen throwing waste over a wall at the side of the street within five minutes. Here, the council traced the two vehicles belonging to Atter, and last August, he accepted the claim for being liable for the tipping and was given a £300 fixed penalty. However, Atter was unable to fulfil this payment, which later led the court to take further action.

Representing himself, Atter told the court: “It won’t happen again.” In the wider community, this case has ignited frustration over the ongoing problem of fly-tipping across Bradford. One resident living near St Dunstan’s Way described the area as “an eyesore that is distasteful to witness but never goes away.”

Another resident described this as ‘’a repeated problem that never seems to disappear even if action is taking place.’’

Bradford Council has announced that fly tipping places an immense financial burden on local authorities. Every year, it is said that the UK councils pay millions of pounds to address fly tipping.