THE hunt is on for the owners of a van that was used in at least 10 incidents of fly tipping in Bradford.

The Mercedes van has been seized after CCTV found it had been used for a string of fly tipping incidents in the South and West of the District, including dozens of tyres.

One Councillor said the authority had "never seen someone so brazenly dump waste in public areas.

Bradford Council and West Yorkshire Police's Operation Steerside partnered to make the seizure, and officers think it has been used to fly tip on many more than the 10 occasions caught on camera.

After the incidents were captured of convert CCTV, links to addresses in Low Moor and Manningham were identified and Neighbourhood Wardens were asked to help track it down.

Once the van was spotted in Low Moor, police from Operation Steerside and Council enforcement officers pounced and took it away.

Using powers which came into force in 2015, Bradford Council can seize vehicles if there is evidence that it has been used for fly-tipping and a suspicion that it may be used again.

Last time the Council seized a van involved in fly-tipping it was taken to a scrap yard and crushed.

Man fined after truck was used to dump waste on Norbury Road

Investigations are now underway to identify and track down the criminals who used the van to dump rubbish on the streets so they can be brought to justice.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “Thank you to all the Council and police officers involved for their hard work identifying and tracking down this van which has been involved in numerous fly-tipping offences.

“The enforcement team has never seen someone so brazenly fly-tip across the district with total disregard for the environmental impact, not to mention the cost to the Council Tax payer in clearing it up. Fly-tipping is a blight on our communities and we are doing our best to try to tackle it, but we need members of the public to support our efforts by reporting offenders.”

Sergeant Jamie Wilkinson, of Bradford District Police, said: “We have been working closely with the Environmental Enforcement team at Bradford Council, specifically targeting illegal waste traders. Anti-social behaviour and use of the roads will not be tolerated and anyone caught will be dealt with robustly.

“The Operation Steerside Partnership has been built over a number of years and the collaborative activity sends out a really clear message that as a partnership we are committed to tackling any anti-social use of vehicles across the district.

“Anyone with any concerns of anti-social use of the roads in their area, or who would like to report any criminality is asked to contact the via 101 or through the LiveChat facility on the West Yorkshire Police website.”

If you see fly-tipping taking place, please note down as many details as possible, including vehicle licence plate numbers and inform the Council.

Fly-tipping can be reported be calling the Council 01274 431000 or online at www.bradford.gov.uk.