Sunderland man admits dumping tonnes of rubbish in fly-tipping spree

Residents living in a tiny cul-de-sac last summer reported repeatedly seeing Chad Proctor’s yellow caged van arrive fully laden with waste, before returning empty minutes later, Sunderland magistrates heard.

The 28-year-old – trading as B&C Service – said an unnamed associate had borrowed the van at the time.

Michelle Irving, for Sunderland City Council, said: “Over a number of months Nettles Lane has been subject to a number of large fly-tips with the public highway being blocked.

“No evidence of whom it came from could be found within the waste.”

Ms Irving said that on Friday, July 24, a resident of Honeysuckle Close, Doxford Park, reported concerns about a mysterious van.

It would arrive in the street on a Friday, before leaving at 11.10pm on the following Sunday, returning empty 10 minutes later.

Council officers attended the scene to find the Procter & Sons branded van with items including furniture.

On Monday, the resident reported the van having left on the previous evening.

The items seen on the van found on Nettles Lane.

The pattern continued over a number of weeks, with fly-tips also being dumped at Burdon Lane and Hangman’s Lane, as well as Staithes Road carpark in Washington.

Ms Irving said 5.5 tonnes of rubbish had to be removed from Nettles Lane and Staithes Road at a cost of £1,150. Clean-up of the privately owned land, had to be funded by the owners.

“The person who controls the use of the motor vehicle is treated by law as knowingly causing the waste to be deposited,” she added.

Proctor, of Ferndale Road, Penshaw, was traced by DVLA records, and admitted five counts of depositing waste without a permit, between July and September, and of failing to produce a signed waste transfer note.

He pleaded on the basis that he had allowed somebody else to use the van and had not taken the necessary steps to ensure he was not using it for fly-tipping.

Gerry Scott, defending, said former scrap man and problem gambler Proctor had let an associate use the van to make extra cash. “He accepts, by virtue of the legislation, that he is guilty of this offence,” Mr Scott added. He will be sentenced on April 26.

 The council’s CEO for Place, Les Clark, said after the case: “Cleaning up after these fly-tipping offences has cost the council and private land owners thousands of pounds.

 “As well as fly-tipping on public land, there were offences on private land where the land owners have had to shoulder the clean-up costs.

 “Put together, these were some of the worst fly tipping incidents our city has seen in recent years.”