A MAN who dumped 25 black bin bags full of rubbish into a ditch at the side of a quiet country lane has been spared prison.

Michael Steven Tyrell, of Beuno Terrace, Clynnog Fawr, had collected the bags of waste from a Pwllheli family home after advertising his services on Facebook.

The family had believed the 20-year-old would legitimately dispose of the household rubbish at an approved location but instead the unemployed man disposed of them by the side of the road near Haulfron at Pencaenewydd.

Tyrell appeared at Caernarfon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of depositing controlled waste on land without an environmental permit.

Prosecutor Geraint Brython Edw­ards told the court that Gwynedd Council had been informed of an inci­dent of fly-tipping at Pencaenewydd on Tuesday, 19 January.

He said environmental enforcement staff had retrieved, then insp­ected the 25 bin bags and found letters belonging to an address at Yr Eifl.

When the family living at that add­ress were interviewed by council officers, they said that the defendant had advertised his waste management services on Facebook and that they had paid him £20 to take the waste away.

Mr Edwards told magistrates further investigations were carried out and CCTV footage from Yr Eifl “clearly showed a vehicle at the rear of the flats and a person loading the bags into that vehicle”.

The individual was identified as Tyrell but, despite Gwynedd Council twice writing to him about the matter, the 20-year-old failed to contact investigators.

Mr Edwards said Tyrell had “flagrantly disregarded the law” and that the “fly tipping was, it appears, committed for financial gain.”

Defending Tyrell, solicitor Carys Parry told the court her client had not intended to dump the bags at the side of the road. She said he had collected waste from the same family once before and deposited it at the recycling facility at Pwllheli.

On 19 January, however, the centre refused to take the bags as there were so many and a “Plan B” trip to a similar facility at Caernarfon also proved fruitless.

Mrs Parry said Tyrell had only dumped the rubbish after receiving a call telling him his partner, who has diabetes, had collapsed in Pwllheli.

“He made a detour to the village of Pencaenewydd, left the bags in the location where they were found the next day by the council and drove back to Pwllheli,” she said.

The solicitor said it was Tyrell’s intention to return to the village and retrieve the rubbish but “by then it had been removed”.

Mrs Parry said her client had been unable to contact the council on receipt of the two letters from officers because he was not in possession of his mobile phone.

Sentencing the father-of-two, magistrates told Tyrell: “We do find some aggravating features.

“You took payment, you advertised on Facebook and you ignored the letters from the council.”

Tyrell was given a year-long community order and will have to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was ordered to pay court costs of £238 and a £60 victim surcharge.

After the hearing, A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “There are many ways to dispose of household waste responsibly, including using the council’s waste recycling centres.

“To report a fly-tipping incident in strictest confidence, call Gwynedd Council’s Street Enforcement team on 01766 771000, e-mail [email protected], or contact the Council via www.gwynedd.gov.uk and click on ‘Report a Problem’.”