York man photographed dumping rubble in litter bin jailed for nine months

He dumped waste near a children’s play area and on a private drive.

Now William Eric Pipes has been jailed for nine months for his persistent fly-tipping.

Pipes, 39, of Danebury Drive, York was found guilty of 19 charges of unlicensed waste collection and fly-tipping.

As well as imposing the prison sentence, the judge at York Crown Court ordered his van to be seized for his illegal activities.

Pictured in the act

The court heard how a plumbing firm hired Pipes to safely dispose of waste from bathroom refits. It believed he was a licensed waste and scrap collector.

He was paid in cash to remove the waste which included old toilets and baths, tiles and timber, as well as taking scrap.

But he just dumped the rubbish.

In February and March 2017, 13 incidents of fly tipping were found on verges, alleys, near a children’s play area and on a private drive, in the Thoresby Road area.

In a rubble bag, a receipt was found by a council employee who reported it to the council’s neighbourhood enforcement team.

The team traced the waste back to the plumbing firm. Mr Pipes failed to provide proper paperwork, a waste carrier’s licence or a scrap metal dealer’s licence when asked to do so.

In March and April 2017 Mr Pipes and his van were seen four times – and were photographed – disposing of large amounts of waste, including building waste, in a litter bin at Beech Grove, Acomb.

Real risk to residents

In court Pipes apologised for his offences.

Judge Paul Batty QC told him: “You were dumping items over a significant geographical area in the hope and expectation your activity would not be traced, and the matter is compounded by in addition to it being residential areas, one of the bags of broken tiles dumped was near a children’s play park.

“You were dumping wherever you thought could get away with it.”

Judge Batty added: “The nature of the acts posed, in my judgement, a real risk to the residents of York.

“It is quite impossible to avoid an immediate custodial sentence. There is far too much fly tipping and the court has to indicate it will not be tolerated and views it extremely seriously.”

Cllr Andrew Waller, executive member for the environment, said: “Anyone with a business which buys or sells scrap metal must register as a dealer with every local authority where they wish to operate, and anyone carrying waste must register with the Environment Agency.

“While they are responsible for safe disposal, people who hire them must also check the carriers are properly licensed or they themselves could risk a criminal record.

“Fly-tipping is unsightly, anti-social, can pollute the land it’s dumped on and creates considerable cost for City of York Council to clear.”

For information on commercial waste and residents’ responsibilities visit the council website.