Fridges and toilet among items fly-tipped in town

A fly-tip on a patch of grass, which borders some houses in the background. The fly-tip comprises white goods, furniture, planks of wood and other rubbish.Image source, LDRS
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White goods and furniture were found dumped in the Guard House area of Keighley on Monday

  • Published

Fridges, furniture and a toilet are among the items to have been fly-tipped across land in Keighley.

The waste was found in the Guard House area of the town on Monday as officers from West Yorkshire Police and Bradford Council carried out an operation to deal with illegal dumping.

Last week, figures published by the local authority revealed there had been 118 reports of environmental crime across the Keighley and Ilkley constituency area since the start of April.

At a meeting of the council's Keighley and Ilkley Area Committee, councillors were told four new CCTV cameras had been put up to catch fly-tippers in the Keighley West ward.

Members were told that Bradford Council had recently issued its first £1,000 fine for fly-tipping, after recently increasing its maximum penalty for the offence from £400.

Councillor Joe O'Keefe, who represents Keighley West for Labour, told the meeting a piece of land off Guard House Avenue was a "well-known hotspot" for fly-tipping.

A fly-tipped dumped against the backdrop of a terraced street. A toilet, sofas and a mattress can all be seen amongst the waste.Image source, LDRS
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More than 100 reports of fly-tipping across Keighley and Ilkley have been made since April

The land in question is owned by housing association Incommunities, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The BBC has contacted Incommunities for comment.

O'Keefe said: "We think there is a guy doing illegal house clearances, dumping waste on this land after charging people to take it away to a tip.

"He is tipping fridges and mattresses.

"When you have serial offenders like this guy, it needs dealing with."

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