Man dumping raw meat caught on film

THIS was the moment a man was caught on camera dumping raw meat on a Valleys road.

Patrick Neil Durkin was caught on a covert camera and then charged with knowingly and intentionally disposing of waste, including raw meat, at the Tramroad between Penywaun and Trecynon.

According to Rhondda Cynon Taf council, he was pictured on October 2 last year after the device was installed in an area where fly-tipping is an issue.

Durkin is one of 10 recent prosecutions in the county borough for waste and recycling offences.

Nigel Wheeler, Rhondda Cynon Taf council’s director for highways and streetcare services, said: “The council has again shown that waste and recycling offences will not be tolerated. These latest prosecutions should serve as a warning to residents who feel that fly-tipping is acceptable, and to those who don’t contribute to the recycling effort within the county borough.”

Durkin, of Heol Nant, Cwmdare, pleaded guilty to fly-tipping at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court on March 1.

He was fined £120 and ordered to pay £400 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

He’s not the only one to be prosecuted recently as the council clamps down on litter louts and fly-tippers in a bid to make the area a cleaner, greener space.

On May 24, at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court, the council prosecuted nine people for various offences, resulting in fines and cost totalling more than £4,000.

The council’s recent bid to clampdown on offences included introducing Who Done It? – where images taken by enforcement officers, of people the council wants to speak to in connection with suspected offences, are posted online.

Meanwhile, the council says figures published in May show it is improving its recycling record, having recycled 64% of waste in 2016 – above the Welsh average of 63%.

Coun Wheeler added: “If everyone does just a little more it would make a big difference, which is why these offences are taken so seriously.”