A Wirral man was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and pay more than £1,200 in compensation and costs after pleading guilty to three fly-tipping offences.

William Aspinall admitted two counts of knowingly causing the deposit of controlled waste and one of failing to comply with duty of care regulations.

A large amount of commercial waste was tipped at Belmont in Birkenhead on or around July 7, 2012 and Kelvinside in Seacombe on or before July 19, 2012.

This waste had been taken by Aspinall of "Bill's Removals" from a local business that had closed down.

It contained fabric, foam and chemicals of unknown and "potentially hazardous" nature.

Evidence obtained by enforcement officers from Wirral Council led to the successful prosecution of Mr Aspinall for these offences.

The initial hearing took place on June 11, when Mr Aspinall of Edgemore Close, Birkenhead, entered his guilty plea. But sentencing was adjourned until last week to allow probation reports to be carried out.

He was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, known as "community payback", pay £600 compensation, £595 for prosecution costs and a £60 victim surcharge - a financial penalty totalling £1,255.

Councillor Brian Kenny, council cabinet member for the environment, said: “Fly-tipping is not only an environmental problem and a quality of life issue for residents, it also impacts on local people through their council tax, as ultimately the council has to pay for the cost of clean up caused by people disposing of their rubbish so irresponsibly.”

Councillor Harry Smith, cabinet member for highways, said: “Hopefully this successful prosecution will serve as a deterrent for anyone who might be tempted to fly-tip waste.

"We do take the problem extremely seriously and will always take action against those we catch doing it.

“The public can really help. If they see anything untoward they should report it to Streetscene."