Caught in the act, fly-tipper dumping asbestos in a lane
THIS is the moment a fly tipper was caught dumping dangerous waste on a country lane.
Nathan Cossey was unloading his fifth heap of rubbish – waste that included asbestos and fridge freezers – when he was spotted by police.
The 32-year-old was taken to court and given an eight-month prison term, suspended for 18 months, and made to pay the costs of removal.
Cossey was unloading black bags and building rubble from his van on the day he was caught in August 2018 – little did he know, investigators were filming him.
After complaints from members of the public, Nottingham City Council staff had gathered intelligence leading them to work out when Cossey might visit the site.
Sure enough, the father-of-two turned up and began unloading rubbish at the spot close to Colwick Country Park in Nottingham. He was filmed throwing a bag out of his van, then standing with his hands on his hips as an officer read him his rights. He claimed to have had a waste licence for a different vehicle but later admitted to officers that he had seen others fly-tipping at the site and thought he would ‘try his luck’.
Passing sentence at Nottingham Crown Court, Judge James Sampson told Cossey: ‘Frankly, you could not have cared less. You were despoiling the environment, the countryside, and that is an amenity we all share.’
Cossey, of Nottingham, was given one year to pay a £5,000 bill towards removal costs and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community work after admitting illegally depositing waste.
Investigators found he had been offering waste-removal services while working for a scrap metal collector. Bags of rubble similar to those dumped near Colwick Park were found at an address in the city.
Julia King, prosecuting, told the court: ‘There was an intentional disregard for the law.’