Wigan man is cleared of fly-tipping

George Roberts, 30 of Bryn Gates, Bamfurlong, had stood in the dock at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court to plead not guilty to two charges brought under the 1990 Environmental Protection Act.

The first was that he dumped a handsaw, take-away packaging, cans and bottles, a piece of carpet, a handheld vacuum cleaner, leaves, the inside of an iPhone box and other miscellaneous pieces of plastic and waste at the rear of Carr Common Road, Hindley Green, on September 29 2020.

The second was that he failed to provide requested documentation to the waste regulation authority - namely Wigan Council - by a deadline of October 27 that year, which is itself a breach of the act.

But following a trial, justices found him not guilty and he was told he was free to go.