A MAN who was prosecuted after 10 bags of waste were flung from a van had initially claimed they fell out by accident after he forgot to close the van door.

Nicky Ellis had been tracked down after CCTV cameras recorded bags of plant waste being thrown onto the side of the road at Staithgate Lane on August 24.

On Thursday he appeared in court to plead guilty to fly-tipping, and was ordered to pay over £1,600, with prosecutors saying he showed a “blatant disregard for the law". 

The court was shown CCTV of the van driving down the road – next to the M606, with bags of waste being thrown out one by one.

Some of the bags then roll onto the road, spilling out garden waste onto the road.

Ellis, 41 of Albert Terrace, Oakenshaw, had initially told investigators that he had stopped at a roadside to urinate, but forgot to close the van door afterward – leading to the 10 bags falling out onto the road at regular intervals.

Wassim Raja, prosecuting on behalf of Bradford Council, told the court: “The fly-tipping was captured on CCTV.

“The environmental health team had the registration of the vehicle and tracked it back to a company in Slough, who provided details of who the driver was at the time.”

He said Ellis, a gas engineer, was then interviewed, adding: “He said he had stopped to urinate, and left the side door open by mistake.

“He said he didn’t know the side door was open, and the waste must have fallen out as he drove along the road. He denied it was his intention to throw anything.

“What he said was not consistent with what the CCTV shows.

“I counted 10 bags being thrown out, and you can see a hand pushing one bag out at some point.

“After being shown the CCTV he accepts someone was throwing bags out of the van.

“He says he was full of remorse and he won’t do it again, but you can’t get away from the fact that this was blatant, and it was a series of bags thrown out.

“The remnants of the bags were spread out all over the road. It was a blatant disregard for the law.”

Ellis, representing himself, told the court he was disposing the waste as a favour to a relative.

He said: “I’m not making excuses – I’ve got a past, I’ve been in prison. I’ve tried to change my life around.

“I know I’ve done wrong. I said I’ll pay for any damage.”

Magistrates gave Ellis a fine of £727 and ordered him to pay a £291 surcharge and £658 costs.