A BIDSTON fly-tipper has been sentenced after being caught in the act on CCTV.

Mark Fitzgerald pleaded guilty at Wirral Magistrates Court on Wednesday, July 25.

He was identified after covert CCTV had been installed by the council following an increase of fly-tipping in Bidston.

Mr Fitzgerald made two trips to Naylor Road by Flaybrick Memorial Gardens on October 23 last year and used a borrowed Ford Transit van to dump a plastic child's car, mops, a car tyre, a large tree stump, an animal cafe, a large fridge, two wheel barrows and a brown wheelie bin filled with waste.

Judges sentenced him to 50 hours of unpaid work, £500 costs and a £85 victim surcharge.

Wirral’s cabinet member for the Environment Cllr Matthew Patrick said: "I cannot understand why some people still think it is acceptable to illegally dump waste wherever they feel like it and I am pleased the person responsible in this case has been held accountable.

"Fly-tipping is irresponsible and selfish and we have shown time and again we will use all powers at our disposal to robustly enforce serious environmental crimes.

"Wirral’s environmental enforcement team and Magenta Living’s neighbourhood teams deserve a lot of credit for the hard work and dedication they put in to tackling fly-tipping."

The surveillance operation was supported by Magenta Living, with their neighbourhood team providing intelligence to council officers.

Maureen Davies, environmental services manager at Magenta Living said: "People often believe fly-tipping is a victimless crime and someone else will always clear up the mess for them. That’s just not the case.

"Fly-tipping means valuable resources are spent cleaning up the mess; resources that could have been spent on something more worthwhile.

"In this instance, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service had to be called out after the waste was set alight.

"The distress this causes for our tenants and residents across Wirral is huge and I implore anyone considering disposing of waste in this way to think again.

"I am proud that our neighbourhood team was able to assist in this case and we will continue to work with Wirral Council to tackle this issue."

To report fly-tipping or for advice about disposing of bulky waste items properly visit https://www.wirral.gov.uk/environmental-problems/street-care-and-cleaning/fly-tipping