Distinctive dog tattoo collars scrap man
A rogue scrap man was caught after a tattoo on his chest was matched to a picture on social media.
Lewis Temple gave false details to enforcement officers when he was pulled over in Newcastle’s West End – but identified after photos on his Facebook page were matched to body camera images of him bare-chested and displaying a large, distinctive dog tattoo.
Newcastle City Council enforcement officers were driving down the city’s Westgate RoadonJune24lastyearwhen they spotted a van overladen with scrap metal.
PassengerLiamBlackburn, 26, of Churchside Gardens, Houghton, was asked for his wastecarrier’slicence,buttold officers to speak to the driver, who showed a photograph on his mobile phone of what he claimedwashiswastecarrier’s card, with the name ‘Glenn’.
ChecksoftheEnvironment Agency’sonlinepublicregister of authorised waste carriers showed no record of the name, addressornumberonthecard.
Police confirmed the van’s registered keeper was Lewis Temple, 25, of Chilton Avenue, Fence Houses, and searches of theEAregistershowedneither Blackburn nor Temple were authorised waste carriers.
Neither Blackburn nor Temple attended court, but Temple pleaded guilty by post to transporting waste without beingregisteredandtoproviding false or misleading informationtoanofficer.Heoffered no mitigation.
Blackburn was convicted in his absence of transporting waste without being registered. He was fined £180, with £121.55 costs and a £34 victim surcharge – a total of £335.55.
Temple was fined £120 for eachoffence,with£121.55costs and a £34 surcharge – a total of £395.55.
Roy Harris, Newcastle City Council’s environmental protection manager, said: “If you transport waste you must be registered.
“And if you are a household orbusinessthenyoumusttake all reasonable measures to ensure that your rubbish is only handed over to legitimate, registered waste carriers.”