A thoughtless fly tipper who repeatedly dumped rubbish in the city has been ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work by a court.

John Sheridan admitted six counts of fly tipping at locations across Bushbury during a hearing at Dudley Magistrates Court.

Sheridan, of Broome Road, dumped household waste, furniture and building materials and was given a community order for twelve months with a requirement to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

Magistrates also imposed a £95 victim surcharge and awarded the council costs of £3,000.

Sheridan used a white transit van to dump the rubbish in a variety of locations, including outside the London Midland Railway Club in Bushbury Lane, in Cross Street North, Showell Road, Coxwell Avenue and twice in Shaw Road.

He was taking money from people to remove their waste during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic and first lockdown. The items were dumped between 9 April and 11 May 2020.

Sheridan was caught through a combination of City of Wolverhampton Council CCTV, private security cameras and witnesses.

Once the registration plate of the transit van was identified, officers from the council’s Environmental Crimes team were able to find a registered address and seize the vehicle, which was fully laden with waste.

The council has recently launched a crackdown on fly tippers and those who thoughtlessly dump their rubbish will see their images shared on lampposts to appeal for information to help identify the culprits.

Fly tipping costs taxpayers more than £260,000 per year in Wolverhampton and officers attend an average of 12 fly tips every day, ranging from individual items to large scale fly tipping.

The costs awarded to the council in this recent case will be reinvested back into the Environmental Crime service, helping to bring people to justice who fail to dispose of their waste correctly.

Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment and climate change at City of Wolverhampton Council, said: “Fly tipping has always been a priority for the council and one that we continually work hard to tackle.

“We know it’s a national issue, but we also know how it makes local people feel when others thoughtlessly dump dirty rubbish in areas where they live and work.

“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to bring this case to court and that there has been such a positive outcome. In addition, with the launch of our new crackdown, we are sending a strong message to fly tippers.

“We will take all the necessary measures to stop this criminal behaviour and keep Wolverhampton – and its local neighbourhoods and streets - clean and attractive.”

Residents are reminded that waste can be disposed of free of charge at our Household Waste and Recycling Centres (tips) which are open 7 days a week from 8am – 4pm. Centres are at Anchor Lane, Lanesfield, Bilston and Shaw Road, Wolverhampton.

A bulky item collection service to dispose of big unwanted items is also available, find out more at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/book-bulky-item-collection