Watch: Residents snare Manchester flytipper by catching him on camera

Eagle-eyes residents helped to snare a flytipper by filming him dumping waste on their phones.

Two people spotted Anastasios Kyriakides, 31, off-loading the rubbish - and quickly whipped out their phones to share the footage to environmental bosses at Manchester City Council.

The residents saw a white, Mercedez Luton-style van parked on the cobbled footpath at the entrance to the railway embankment off Dalton Street, Harpurhey, in April last year. The occupants were unloading and dumping quantities of what appeared to be rubble, wood, and general waste from the rear of the vehicle on to the cobbled path.

What happened next?

The council’s Environmental Crimes Team found that the van was a hire vehicle and contacted the owners, who confirmed that the vehicle was let to Mr Kyriakides of Vancouver Quay, Salford, at the time.

He later admitted to dumping the waste, claiming that the tip was closed due to coronavirus restrictions and that he had to dump the waste to clear the van before returning it to the hire company.

He then pleaded guilty to the fly-tipping offence (under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) at a hearing on 17 August. He was fined £346 and made to pay costs of £872 and a £35 victim surcharge – a total of £1,253.

What has the council said?

Coun Luthfur Rahman, deputy leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Thanks to the quick thinking of these right-minded residents, getting footage of the flytipping as it occurred, it meant that we had a foolproof case against the fly-tippers and for that we are truly grateful.

“No-one wants to see litter or waste on our streets but the downright cheek of using a hired van to dump rubbish in our city is just wrong. And our officers have shown their determination to investigate and catch selfish people like this who think it’s okay to fly tip in our city, we won’t accept this from anyone and will take every step necessary to bring these people to justice.”