A video clip of a farmer who caught a panicked fly-tipper red-handed in Warwickshire has been viewed more than 1.4m times on social media.
Edward Goadby filmed the man in a white Peugeot van desperately turning in the road and speeding off – after he had dumped building rubble, household rubbish, a garden fence and a sofa.
The video shows the fleeing van with both back doors open and more items inside, presumably waste that the fly-tipper did not get time to dump after he was disturbed.
See also: Farmers use tractor and telehandler to trap fly-tippers
Charles Goadby, whose family farm near Nuneaton, shared the clip on Twitter following his nephew’s encounter with the fly-tipper late on Monday evening (12 September).
He wrote: “Concerned for this poor workman. While trying to perform a 3 point turn his van doors failed and let his possessions fall out of his van.”
Mr Goadby told Farmers Weekly that the fly-tipper has been “named and shamed” locally.
Warning: This video contains graphic language
North Warwickshire Borough Council took swift action to remove the waste from the side of the road, after the video clip went viral.
“Because the police and council were being tagged in everything, by 11am [on Tuesday morning] it was cleared,” Mr Goadby said.
“Fly-tipping is constant round here, it has got to a point now where every field has padlocked gates to try and stop it.
“We always sift through it looking for names and addresses, and we always send it on to the council. We have had one [previous] prosecution that I know of.
“People don’t realise that if they are paying someone to take waste away and they don’t have a valid waste license, they are responsible.”
Mr Goadby said Warwickshire Police asked him to submit the videos for officers to review.
When asked for comment, Warwickshire Police said the fly-tipping was an issue for North Warwickshire Borough Council.
A spokesperson for North Warwickshire council said: “We are aware of the incident and an investigation has been opened.
“Fly-tipping is an extremely serious offence which the council works extremely hard to combat and have zero tolerance on.
“We urge residents that pay someone to get rid of their rubbish to always check they have a waste carriers licence.”
