A householder has called for “common sense” to be shown by Bradford Council after he was turned away from a recycling tip – for having too much rubbish.

John Denison went to Midland Road tip in Manningham to get rid of a small amount of topsoil and a few stones that he had cleared from his garden in Eccleshill so he could set up a swing for his child.

But he was turned away because workers said he had brought too much.

“They said I couldn’t tip it and that I had to go to Bowling Back Lane to have it weighed,” said Mr Denison.

“The Council is encouraging us to be green and they want us to recycle, but I wasn’t allowed to tip. It is frustrating.”

He added: “I am a bit aggrieved. I am trying to use the facilities, trying to do the right thing. I’ve got a permit, I am private homeowner and I was using a private vehicle.

“No wonder fly-tipping is on the increase.”

The Council said Mr Denison was turned away because he had already visited the tip twice this year with loads of soil.

David Copeland, the Council’s waste disposal manager, said: “Mr Denison’s three vehicle-loads of soil clearly exceeded the half-tonne limit per year for free disposal of this kind of material at our household waste recycling centres, which are not intended for the disposal of large amounts of construction waste.

“We explained the rules to Mr Denison and he was quite rightly advised that he would need to visit our Bowling Back Lane site, which has a weighbridge, to pay for his third load, and any subsequent loads, at the very reasonable charge of £10 per half-tonne if he wanted to continue tipping.”

Council regulations allow 12 bags or half a tonne of soil, stones, brick, rubble to be tipped for free at Bradford tips.

Mr Denison, 54, of Eccleshill, admitted he had previously made two trips to the tip a fortnight ago but he strongly refuted that he had disposed of “large amounts of construction waste”.

He added: “I think it is all a bit silly. If you average it out over the years, the amount I have used the tip, it is very negligible.”