An Ellesmere Port man narrowly avoided a jail sentence after pleading guilty to fly-tipping.

Samuel Trevor Dixon, 28, of Braemar Court, was sentenced to 50 hours community service and ordered to pay £920 costs when he appeared at Chester Magistrates Court on January 11.  

The court heard that officers from Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Regulatory Services team found 20 bin bags full of his household rubbish dumped on land next to the cycle track near Lime Street and Stanley Road, Ellesmere Port.

Dixon was traced by the officers and ultimately was interviewed under caution when he admitted the offence, saying it was rubbish from when he was moving house.

In sentencing Dixon, the court noted that the seriousness of the offence gave the option for a custodial sentence.  However, bearing in mind Dixon’s previous good character and his early guilty plea, a community service order was imposed.

The council’s cabinet member for Environment, councillor Karen Shore, said: “Fly-tippers are a menace to the public, the environment and wildlife. It costs the council thousands of pounds each year to clean up after them.

"There is no excuse for fly-tipping in this way when other options are available, for example through the council's household waste recycling centres.

“Fly-tipping will not be tolerated in our communities. When it does occur, we will investigate, find, and prosecute the offenders. This should be a warning to all those tempted to fly-tip. Fly-tipping can easily result in a jail sentence.”