Motorist films the moment he catches a fly tipper red-handed and gives him directions to the tip

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Motorist films the moment he catches a fly-tipper red-handed and gives him directions to the tip which ‘is literally two minutes away’

  • Fly-tipper was filmed as he was just about to dump furniture in Bidston, Wirral
  • Getting caught, he asked if there was ‘a yard nearby where he could dump it’
  • The furious motorist said the area has become ‘blighted by selfish fly-tippers’

By Aliki Kraterou For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

A motorist filmed the moment he caught a fly-tipper getting ready to dump furniture on a quiet country lane just moments from the local tip.  

The footage shows a man parked at the end of a road in Bidston, Wirral, about to take something out of his car boot and dump it when a local catches him in the act. 

Local resident Stuart, 35, was left reeling when he caught the fly-tipper on Tuesday – noting the road was just one mile away from the nearest household waste recycling centre. 

But when confronted, the man instead asked if there were ‘any yards where he could dump’ his goods.  

Local resident Stuart, 35, was left reeling when he caught the fly-tipper on Tuesday – noting the road was just one mile away from the nearest household waste recycling centre (as seen in this map)

Bidston Household Waste Recycling Centre is 'literally two minutes down the road'

Bidston Household Waste Recycling Centre is ‘literally two minutes down the road’

The man was parked at the end of a lane on Boundary Road in Bidston, Wirral

The man was parked at the end of a lane on Boundary Road in Bidston, Wirral

How fly-tippers blight the UK and cost the taxpayer millions

New data via a Freedom of Information request reveals the average local authority paid £222,503 clearing up after fly-tippers last year. 

And the problem as a whole rose by 66 per cent between 2014 and 2019. 

Some of the worst affected areas of the country include the London borough of Brent, where there was a 165 per cent increase in fly- tipping incidents in five years. 

Nuneaton and Bedworth council in Warwickshire saw an increase of 132 per cent over the same period. 

Figures also show how the local authority costs of dealing with fly-tipping increased by 33 per cent between 2014 and 2019, peaking in 2017 at an average of £270,000 per council.

The average disguises the fact that some areas have paid a far higher price. Preston Council spent £11.5 million on cleaning up rubbish dumped in and around the Lancashire city during the last five years.

The Freedom of Information request, which was submitted by clothing brand TOG24, found that Glasgow is the UK’s current fly-tipping capital with more than 6,700 recorded incidents in 2020 so far.

It is followed by Bristol (3,658), Doncaster (3,115) and Southampton (2,849). On average, councils in the UK had to deal with 2,500 fly-tipping events last year. 

And so far this year, councils have already paid an average of £140,000 to combat the problem.

In the video Stuart can be heard saying ‘excuse me, take it way’ as he walks over to confront the man, who parked his car at the bottom of the lane.

As Stuart gets closer to the car, the fly-tipper quickly slams his boot shut and asked ‘are there any yards about here where I can dump it?’

After giving him directions to the local tip which ‘is literally two minutes down the road’, Stuart says: ‘We have to put up with fly-tippers all the time and I’ve had it up to here’. 

Stuart posted the video in a local community group on Facebook and said the area has become ‘blighted by selfish fly-tippers’ which is causing environmental issues for locals.

He said: ‘I was fully expecting to see someone fly-tipping that’s why I had my camera ready.

‘I wouldn’t even say I was shocked or surprised because it’s a common problem. 

‘The tip is literally two minutes away. That’s what makes it so infuriating.

‘It was frustrating to witness it first hand but I felt some pleasure in catching the perpetrator red handed.’ 

This comes as fly-tipping across the UK has increased by two-thirds in just five years, figures reveal.

The British countryside is regularly defiled by louts dumping huge piles of unwanted items and litter on roads, verges and other illegal locations.

It is thought that many people used their extra time during the Covid-19 lockdown to clear out their homes and gardens.

Much of this was dumped illegally after many councils shut down their waste recycling centres to concentrate of roadside collections. 

As well as blighting beauty spots and posing a health hazard to humans and wildlife, fly-tipping is also the cause of huge costs for local authorities and taxpayers.

New data received via a Freedom of Information request reveals that the average local authority paid £222,503 clearing up after fly-tippers last year. 

And the problem as a whole rose by 66 per cent between 2014 and 2019. 

Some of the worst affected areas of the country include the London borough of Brent, where there was a 165 per cent increase in fly- tipping incidents in five years. Nuneaton and Bedworth council in Warwickshire saw an increase of 132 per cent over the same period. 

The man was caught right when he was about to dump furniture illegally

After getting caught, the fly-tipper asked if there is any yard  nearby to dump it

The man was caught right when he was about to dump furniture illegally

Councillor Liz Grey, chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee for Wirral Council, said: ‘The issue of the persistent dumping of household and domestic waste is an ongoing problem, despite numerous initiatives to address this, including regular engagement with residents and enforcement wherever possible.’

The council ask anyone with any information they think could help to identify offenders, to get in touch with them using their online form.