Fly-tipper caught dumping massive piles of rubbish is spared jail

A man who admitted fly-tipping dangerous waste has been handed an eight-month suspended prison sentence.

Nathan Cossey, 32, from Nottingham, dumped five large piles of rubbish over the course of two weeks, with one containing asbestos.

He was caught red-handed by police and council officials after throwing black bin bags out of the back of a van near Colwick Park.

Nottingham Magistrate’s Court heard how the fly-tipper had charged people to dispose of their waste over a fortnight in August 2018.

He would dump massive piles of rubble and rubbish at a beauty spot, leaving taxpayers with a £5,300 bill.

Nottingham City Council launched an investigation after members of the public noticed fridges and freezers piling up.

Officials confronted Cossey on August 28 when they saw him and another man emptying waste from a van.

After claiming to have a waste licence for another vehicle, he confessed he had seen others fly-tipping in the area and thought he would ‘try his luck’.

Following further investigations, it was revealed Cossey had been offering waste-removal services despite not being licensed to do so.

Cossey, admitted depositing waste without an environmental permit in court.

He was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay £5,000 for the specialist removal of the waste.

The fly-tipper was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and fined £100 for failing to produce documentation on demand.

Sentencing him at the city’s crown court on Monday, Judge James Sampson told him: ‘You were despoiling the environment, the countryside, and that is an amenity we all share.’

After the case, Councillor David Mellen, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said: ‘This is a significant result for the authority and the sentence sends a very strong message that we will not tolerate this type of behaviour which potentially puts people’s health at risk.

‘Fly-tipping is a blight on any community but this pile of rubbish contained asbestos, which could have had serious consequences.

‘The council had to pay more than £5,300 to have the waste removed safely.

‘Mr Cossey showed scant regard for any of this and repeatedly refused to engage with our officers in the aftermath, failing to attend six meetings and returning correspondence marked ‘not at this address’.

‘We reiterate that taking legal action is a last resort but we make no apologies for bringing Mr Cossey before the courts.”

Dave Halstead, Director of Neighbourhood Services, said: ‘This waste contained dangerous items and presented a risk to those tasked with removing it.

‘There was also a significant cost to the local taxpayer to employ specialist to carry out this work.’