A FORMER restaurant boss must pay almost £5,000 in fines and costs after he admitted dumping business waste next to a Bradford road.

Mohammed Nadeem, 39, admitted illegally tipping drink cans and packaging in the Birksland Street/Mount Street area off Leeds Road.

Nadeem used a Vauxhall Vivaro van to dump a large quantity of waste in the early hours of August 11 last year.

He returned twice to drop off more waste, Bradford magistrates heard yesterday.

Shortly after the waste was dumped, an unidentified man - which was not Nadeem - put something flammable on the rubbish and set it on fire, causing an explosion.

Council investigators tracked Nadeem down through the van's registration number.

In interview, he told the council that he had previously been involved as a director of Diner 900, a restaurant on Leeds Road where the rubbish had come from.

In court, Nadeem, who was not represented, said the business had been plagued by illegal dumping which he had paid to have removed.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: A Bradford Council photograph of the rubbish being dumped

He said he had been left out of pocket due to paying for the removal of illegally tipped waste for three years.

Nadeem, of North Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield, apologised to the court for the offences but said he had been driven to it by a lack of cash.

"I tried to get rid of the rubbish. I'm sorry for that. I've not had any criminal convictions in my life. I have never done anything like this before."

Nadeem said he did not have the business any more.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Mohammed Nadeem leaving court

Mohammed Nadeem as he leaves court

Magistrates handed Nadeem a £4,000 fine for one fly-tipping offence, with no separate penalties for four other offences related to illegal tipping.

He was also ordered to pay clean-up and other costs, and a surcharge, totalling £888.

Nadeem pleaded with magistrates to reduce the fine, saying he had children to feed and had missed mortgage repayments.

The court's legal advisor told Nadeem: "If you are not happy with the decision you can apply to appeal to the crown court. They (magistrates) could have fined you £25,000."

Outside court Nadeem said he was shocked by the size of the fine. "I thought it would be £500 or £600."

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Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council's deputy leader, said: "There is no excuse for flytipping which is hazardous and blights the environment. We are determined to pursue the perpetrators and hope that taking people to court sends out the message we will not tolerate such behaviour."

A council spokesman added: "Fly-tipping is a criminal offence. If you witness someone fly tipping, please make a note of the details of who and what you have seen, particularly vehicle registration details, and report these to us on 01274 434366 or to www.bradford.gov.uk or by text to 0778 6208100."