A MAN continued to pile rubbish in the yard of a house even after he was ordered to clean it up.

Sirfraz Hussain will have to pay over £1,546 after a court found him guilty of repeatedly ignoring calls to clear waste, which included a sofa, rubble and bin bags, from the property.

Bradford Council says the waste had “blighted” the neighbourhood.

Hussain, of Maidstone Street, Laisterdyke, was approached by Environmental Health officers from Bradford Council over concerns about an empty house in Great Horton.

An Environmental Enforcement Officer visited 9 Cragg Lane in January after complaints from neighbours that the empty house had become an eyesore.

They were greeted with a scene of piles of building rubble and discarded furniture in the garden.

After establishing that the owner of the house was Mr Hussain, the officer served a warning letter giving him eight days to clear it up.

Home owner to pay court £1,771 after failing to remove waste from Laisterdyke garden

After the expiry of the warning period, the officer returned to the property only to find that more rubbish, in form of several black bags, had been added to the pile.

As a consequence he was served with a Community Protection Notice requiring him to remove all the rubbish from the garden.

Four days after that notice expired, the officer again visited the property and found that yet more waste had been dumped onto the every increasing pile.

When this waste had still not been removed by March, Council staff cleared the rubbish away themselves at a cost of £167 which was subsequently invoiced to and paid by Mr Hussain.

The authority eventually took the decision to take Mr Hussain, 43, to court.

He did not attend the hearing at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court this week when he was found guilty in his absence of failing to comply with a Community Protection Notice.

He was fined £660, ordered to pay £820 costs and a £66 Victim Surcharge.

Following the case, a spokesperson for Bradford Council said: “We will not sit back and allow people to blight their local environment in this way by leaving such an eyesore for their neighbours to have to endure for months.

“It is totally anti-social and unacceptable behaviour as well as being illegal.

“We would also advise anyone contacted by our enforcement team to co-operate fully – it’s in everybody’s interests and could save a lot of time and expense, not to mention avoiding a criminal record.

“We don’t want to take anyone to court; we simply want people to behave responsibly in the first place and consider their neighbours.”

The house is on the end of a row of terraced houses just off Great Horton Road. There is a small walled yard to the front of the property.

More information on fly-tipping and how it can be reported is available by calling the Council 01274 431000.

People can also find out details by visiting the Council website bradford.gov.uk