A builder caught tipping rubble on a Bradford lane has been fined just £40 by magistrates - about half the cost of fines slapped on litterbugs.

Bradford Council was left "disappointed" at the level of the fine which flies in the face of their strict stance on fly-tipping and littering.

Christopher Scott, 26, of Wyke Crescent, Wyke, was one of two men seen dumping asphalt from a van parked in Wilson Road, Wyke, by an environmental health officer in February.

Harjit Ryatt, prosecuting, said the Council officer approached them and after a brief conversation the driver sped off. Details of the vehicle were used to track down the people involved.

Scott was also ordered to pay £40 costs after pleading guilty to depositing waste.

Last month, William Ballantyne, 56, of Kelford Grove, Huddersfield, was fined £200 with £200 costs after admitting his part in the flytipping. He told the court he had returned to the site and removed the asphalt to a skip in Elland.

Mr Ryatt said both men admitted in interview to dumping excess asphalt at the end of the day if they were pushed for time or they used it to fill in potholes in the road. Ballantyne had worked for the firm for seven or eight years, but Scott had only been employed for a few weeks.

"Flytipping is a major problem in West Yorkshire, particularly in Leeds and Bradford," added Mr Ryatt. "The Council take this matter quite seriously."

Scott told the court: "It was just the end of the day and I had personal reasons for getting home."

Richard Wixey, the Council's director of environmental protection and waste management, said: "We are extremely disappointed with this result but recognise the magistrates took into account the particular circumstances of the case.

"Flytipping costs the Council almost £100 a minute to clean up. It not only spoils the environment but costs taxpayers' money to remove. Bradford Council deals with 5,500 incidents of flytipping each year and clears approximately 12,000 tonnes of litter and flytipped rubbish from the district. This costs the public £400,000 a year.

"The courts have a range of powers available to them to deal with flytipping, not just fines. On other occasions the courts have chosen to use these powers available to them, for example community punishment orders or disqualification from driving."

The case, which was heard by Bradford magistrates yesterday, comes just weeks after the launch of the Council's Litter: What a Waste Campaign. It aims to draw attention to the massive cost of removing litter from the district's streets, which amounts to more than £6 million a year.

The Council is also setting up a new £4.5 million Green Team taskforce to tackle litter and flytipping across the district.

e-mail: jo.winrow@bradford.newsquest.co.uk