A father of four has been found guilty of fly-tipping after dumping rubble, concrete and plastic bags into woods near Heaton, a court heard yesterday.

Taxi driver Sabir Hussain, 43, of Bishop Street, Heaton, Bradford, denied dumping the rubbish into the trees off Shay Lane on June 27, 2005.

But a witness told Bingley Magistrates he had seen an Asian man dumping blue plastic bags over the wall. The man was next to a car the same colour and registration as Hussain's silver taxi.

The witness, Charles Kunz, said the boot of the car was ajar and he could see blue plastic bags inside when he drove past.

Mr Kunz took down the details of the car and then drove back to check the registration number again before returning home and alerting police and Bradford Council.

Neil Mathieson, a member of the Council's Environmental Heath Visible Services team, told the court how he had visited the dumping site and taken photographs of the rubbish.

He had also visited the address given by the DVLA for the number plate but found the defendant to be living in an adjacent street.

On arrival at Hussain's home Mr Mathieson took photographs of rubble and blue plastic bags fitting the description of those dumped over the wall. He also took photographs of a vehicle fitting the description of Hussain's taxi.

On going round to the back of the property he met the defendant who denied dumping the rubbish. Hussain told the Council officer he had driven down Shay Lane that day but had not stopped to dump anything.

The magistrates decision was made after the bench decided no doubt had been cast by the witness Mr Kunz reporting the wrong registration number in the court room. Presiding magistrate Martin Nolan said: "I'm satisfied that Mr Kunz gave the correct number to the police at the time."

He fined the defendant £150 and ordered him to pay costs of £150.

After the trial Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, Bradford's executive member for the environment, said: "Fly-tipping is a serious offence and the Council will do everything it can to prosecute offenders who blight the landscape by dumping rubbish.

"We feel that the level of fines are derisory and the courts have not supported the work we are doing."

She said the case highlighted the important role played by the public in prosecuting tippers.

Coun Hawkesworth said the Council dealt with 5,500 incidents of fly-tipping each year and cleared approximately 12,000 tonnes of litter and fly- tipped rubbish from the district.

She said the cost to the public was £400,000 a year.