A man has been fined after a toilet and other items were dumped in South Gloucestershire.

Ashley Wise, 29, of Crome Road, Lockleaze, Bristol was prosecuted by South Gloucestershire Council’s environmental protection team after a fly-tip consisting of plasterboard, wood, a toilet, building materials and black bin bags containing other waste was discovered.

The waste was left at the side of Cattybrook Road, Shortwood.

After it was traced to the home, Wise explained that about a week before, two men with a van had 'cold called' at his address having spotted the waste in his front garden. They offered to remove the waste for an agreed price of £50.

Wise was unable to provide any details of these men, their vehicle or telephone numbers and he did not have a receipt for the waste removal. He was invited to attend the council offices on July 8 where he was interviewed under caution, during which he confirmed that all of the waste discovered at the fly-tip had come from his home address.

Appearing at Bristol Magistrates Court on January 15, Wise pleaded guilty to failing in his duty of care for the secure transfer of household waste and was fined £100, along with £574 in costs and a victim surcharge of £30.

South Gloucestershire Council’s cabinet member for communities Cllr Rachael Hunt said: “Fly-tipping is completely unacceptable. It has a negative impact on our communities and local environment and we all have a responsibility to make sure that our waste is disposed of in the appropriate manner.

“Our zero-tolerance approach to fly-tipping in South Gloucestershire means that anyone who fly-tips here is up to five times more likely to be prosecuted than anywhere else in the country.

"Our award winning envirocrime team has a 100 per cent record of securing successful prosecutions for this type of offence, so if you fail in your duty of care and allow rubbish to be fly-tipped in South Gloucestershire, you can expect to be caught and prosecuted.”