Audenshaw fly tipper ordered to pay four-figure sum after prosecution

A ROGUE trader has been ordered to pay more than £2,300 after taking money to remove household waste then illegally dumping it in Audenshaw.

Leon Gleave advertised his ‘man with a van’ services on Facebook as Leon’s Removal Services.

But after scattering waste at two locations – on Lumb Lane and Audenshaw Road, both close to the M60 – a Tameside Council enforcement officer found evidence linking it with two residents, who later informed the authority they had used him.

And magistrates at Tameside fined him £300, ordered him to pay clean-up costs of £1,032.97 and prosecution costs of £1,000.

The court heard on Monday, September 23 the enforcement officer investigated reports of fly tipping in Audenshaw – at a section of Audenshaw Road close to the derelict Blue Pig pub and an area of Lumb Lane close to an underpass – on March 28, 2022 and found three piles of rubbish.

Investigations revealed the details of the people who had paid Gleave and they provided receipts for the waste removal with contact information for the business.

As part of their investigations, the council’s waste enforcement team also found CCTV evidence of the waste being fly tipped on Audenshaw Road.

Gleave, of Barrington Street in the Clayton area of Manchester, was invited several times to attend an interview under caution but failed to attend.

The case was initially heard at Wigan Magistrates’ Court in November 2023. He failed to attend court and was found guilty in his absence of two counts of fly tipping and two counts of failing in his duty of care.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, following which he was bailed to appear at Tameside Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on September 23.

In mitigation, Gleave told the court he had paid subcontractors to remove the waste and that he had paid them in good faith as they had given him an invoice for the work.

However, the invoice was not produced in court and he claimed this ‘error’ had cost him his entire business.

Tameside Council’s assistant executive member for enforcement, Cllr Hugh Roderick, said: “This case really highlights the issue of rogue traders who often answer ‘man with a van’ type call outs on social media but then they don’t dispose of the waste legally.

“It also serves a reminder to householders that they have a legal responsibility to always make sure they use licensed waste carriers to remove waste, ask to see their certificate, ask for a receipt and ask where the waste will be disposed of.

“In this case, the residents had asked for receipts, and I thank them for supporting our enquiries, helping to bring this offender to justice.

“Fly tipping is completely unacceptable, is leaves neighbourhoods looking a mess and it costs the council thousands of pounds in clean-up costs, diverting our very limited funds from other public services.

“We have officers out every day clearing and investigating fly tipping and will always take enforcement action where we find evidence.

“So far this year we have issued 271 fixed penalty notices and carried out 10 prosecutions for waste offences.”

You can check a waste carrier is licensed on the Environment Agency website at  https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers.

For further details on how to report fly tipping and what information will help the council’s investigations, see www.tameside.gov.uk/flytipping.