A private refuse collector has been fined more than £2,000 for dumping piles of rubbish outside his front door instead of taking it to a proper disposal site.
Daniel Morgan, 34, charged people to take away their old furniture, ripped-out kitchens and tyres.
Morgan – who operated business Dan’s Disposable Services – had already been warned after complaints about him leaving bulky items including a three-piece-sofa, kitchen work tops and window frames outside his door.
But Morgan carried on using the pavement in Sunnybank Street in Aberdare, South Wales, ‘as a refuse skip’ despite the warnings.
A court heard the dumped rubbish took up the full length of the property and made the public footpath completely impassable.
Images show how Morgan left a heap of tyres, door frames and huge bags of building waste that completely blocked the pavement for pedestrians.
A third complaint was then received – and council officials found panes of glass, a mirror, a builder’s tonne sack full of waste, worktops, a broken-up sofa frame and springs, cushioned seating and a plastic patio chair.
Mr Morgan was issued with a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice – but ignored it along with another three.
Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court fined him a total of £1000, £770 costs and £400 Victim Surcharge, totalling £2170. He denied fly-tipping but failed to turn up to court.
Councillor Ann Crimmings, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Leisure said:
‘We didn’t have to travel far to find the offender in this case as he chose to literally mess on his own doorstep and ruin the street for his neighbours and wider community.
‘Despite a number of warnings, Mr Morgan chose to continue using the public highway as his own personal skip.
‘Not only were the items unsightly, but they were unsecured and dangerous to the public.’