A Nottingham landlord has been fined more than £2,000 for blocking a pavement with household items including a sofa, mattresses and rugs which he’d hastily cleaned out of a flat he hoped to rent.
Afzal Azad, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (April 26) to one offence of fly-tipping in August last year.
Azad was fined £750, ordered to pay a £75 victim surcharge, and ordered to pay all of the council’s costs including clearance costs – a total legal bill of £2,232.87.
In August 2016 Nottingham City Council street cleaners came across a large pile of household waste that had been dumped on the pavement on Newdigate Street.
The rubbish was traced to an address on Alfreton Road.
Footage from a nearby CCTV camera showed three men, including Mr Azad, bringing out household items from an alleyway that was at the rear of an address on Alfreton Road.
The men took more than an hour to fill the pavement with items such as mattresses, rugs, sofa and mixed household waste, completely blocking the pavement.
Mr Azad was seen allowing the men to clear the flat and the next day, after the council had cleared the waste, walking towards the property with two people who were later confirmed to be prospective tenants viewing the flat.
Portfolio Holder for Community Services, Councillor Nicola Heaton, said: “This was a blatant attempt to illegally dump rubbish ahead of tenants viewing a flat in the hope the council would clear it up free of charge.
“This is wholly unacceptable and is using up local council taxpayers’ money when proper options for disposing of rubbish are available – including the council’s free bulky waste collection.”
