Fly tipper snared on Facebook gets fined

A man drove around rural Fylde on three successive days looking for places to fly tip.
Fylde tipping in the Fylde countryside which was the subject of a prosecution against Hamid Mechnan by Fylde CouncilFylde tipping in the Fylde countryside which was the subject of a prosecution against Hamid Mechnan by Fylde Council
Fylde tipping in the Fylde countryside which was the subject of a prosecution against Hamid Mechnan by Fylde Council

Hamid Mechnan charged a house owner £570 to take away waste including a demolished garage,stuffed children’s toys, documents and a cheque book.

Mechnan – who a court was told had ten aliases – dumped the waste on Annas Road, Lytham, Bradshaw Lane, Weeton and Meagles Lane at Elswick.

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The 39-year-old, of Division Lane, Marton, was found guilty after a trial at Blackpool Magistrates Court of three offences of fly tipping and one offence of failing to keep records of what he was doing.

Mechnan, who has previous convictions for drug and immigration offences, was given a 12-week suspended jail sentence. He must do 200 hours unpaid work for the community and pay £1,437 compensation to Fylde Council for cleaning up after him, along with £2,600 court costs.

He was convicted despite a last minute claim under oath by his brother-in-law William Crofts that he was the culprit and that Mechnan had simply allowed his bank account to be used for a money transfer in connection with the waste removal.

Crofts told magistrates: “I know it is late in the day. But I want to tell the truth – I fly tipped and I don’t want someone else to take the blame.”

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However, magistrates said they were convinced of Mechnan’s involvement.

David Traynor, prosecuting for Fylde Council, said the local authority had been told about three waste dumps.

Officers recovered documents that led them to a man who said he had been approached by two men, Mechnan and Crofts, who had seen waste outside his house.

Over three days they used a tipper van to take it away.

The man, who had paid Mechan and Crofts £570, was questioned by council officers and he told them the number plate of the truck and identified Mechnan from Facebook.

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Mechnan admitted he did deal in scrap metal but denied being involved in fly tipping

“I don’t do it full time as I also work at the weekends at a takeaway in Blackpool,” he said.

He said he did not answer questions when formally interviewed over the fly tipping.

His brother-in-law said that he sat in on the interview and admitted using the name of Astbury, saying it was a ‘family name’.

A Fylde Council spokesman said: “The Council aims to prosecute anyone who blights our environment in this way.”