A MAN wanted for multiple offences of fly-tipping across the district has finally been brought to justice more than 15 months after an appeal to trace him.

Bradford Council first issued an image of the man, now known to be Imran Bham, in November 2016. It showed him standing using a phone next to a white Ford Transit van.

Local authority officers, with the help of police, seized the vehicle after it was spotted parked up on a grass verge in Heaton.

The vehicle had been linked to fly-tipping in the Wilsden area, as well as Bowling and Heaton, and officers found a large load of waste inside the van that they suspected was earmarked for another dump.

The council found that the van had no registered keeper and was not insured, so the authority was unable to confirm its owner.

Using a law which came into force in 2015, the council can seize vehicles if there is evidence that they have been used for fly-tipping and there is a suspicion that they may be used again.

After no-one came forward to take responsibility for the van, it became the first, and so far only, vehicle to be crushed by the council as part of a fly-tipping investigation, being broken up at CJ Metal Recycling Ltd in Keighley.

Bham and another man, who is yet to be caught, were filmed using the van to fly-tip in 2016 but he has just been brought before the courts.

At Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court, Bham, 31, of Chellowfield Court, Heaton, pleaded guilty to four offences of fly-tipping on the same day in August 2016 in an area near Leeds Road, Bradford.

He also admitted obstructing a council enforcement officer by refusing to give information about the other person involved.

Sentencing was adjourned until March 2 at Bradford Magistrates’ Court to allow for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, the council’s executive member for environment, sport, and culture, said: “Fly-tipping is a dreadful blight on our community and we are determined to try our best to catch the criminals who try to get away with dumping rubbish, no matter how long it takes.

“Seizing vehicles is just one way of continuing the fight against fly-tipping. So if you don’t want to lose your vehicle, get issued with an immediate Fixed Penalty Charge, or end up before the courts and even, in some cases, behind bars, dispose of your waste properly.

“If you see fly-tipping taking place, please note down as many details as possible, including the vehicle licence plate number, and inform the council.”