Shopkeeper fined for waste tipping

Anwar Saeedi, 35, of Lindsey Mount, Burmantofts, Leeds, who at the time was proprietor of a shop in St James's Road, Halifax, pleaded guilty at Leeds Magistrates Court to three charges of fly-tipping. He was fined 500 and ordered to pay 1,000 costs as well as a 15 victim surcharge.

In November last year, Saeedi flytipped waste from his shop at the door leading into the bin store at the foot of Cottingley Towers, Cottingley Drive, in Beeston, Leeds. He then did the same on other occasions.

When interviewed by officers from Leeds City Council in March, Saeedi admitted the offences while he had the shop in Halifax, between May 2008 and December 2009. He also admitted he never had any system in place to enable him to dispose of commercial waste lawfully. He knew it was wrong to flytip, but he gave no explanation why he had done this.

After the case, the council's member for environmental services, Coun Tom Murray, said flytipping was a blight on communities.