Watch van belonging to fly-tipper who dumped waste in Dewsbury get crushed

Kirklees Council has released this video of the vehicle being squashed as a warning to anyone else considering fly-tipping in the borough.

The Mercedes van was seized as part of the prosecution of Mohammed Eesaa Zaman, a Director of Huddersfield-based Bedworld Ltd.

Zaman pleaded guilty at Huddersfield Magistrates Court to a charge of fly-tipping and a destruction order was granted for the crushing of the van, valued at £8,000.

The court heard how Zaman was seen supervising the loading of the waste into the Mercedes at a property in Walker Street, Earlsheaton.

He was then seen supervising the off-loading of it when it was dumped in Dewsbury later the same day.

Kirklees Council’s Parks Department cleared and disposed of the fly-tipped waste - consisting of household furniture, white goods, builders waste and other household waste using an excavator, council vehicles and trailers - at a cost of £2,585.

Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “This is possibly the clearest message we can send to fly-tippers who think they can use Kirklees as their personal dumping ground and who believe they are above the law.

"We will not tolerate this criminal and anti-social behaviour, what is more, most Kirklees residents will not either.

"The successful outcome of this court case was aided by photographic evidence provided by residents who also gave witness statements about the guilty parties.

"On behalf of the council and the other residents of Kirklees, I would like to thank them for their support. It just goes to show that together we can keep Kirklees cleaner and greener.”

As well as losing the van, Zaman was fined £4,753, which included the clean-up costs.

Anyone spotting fly-tipping or wanting to report an incident to the council can do on its website at www.kirklees.gov.uk/flytipping.