This is the shocking moment a flytipping Scots builder throws stacks of rubbish onto a rural road before leaving the scene in his van.
David McCourt was filmed throwing out the mountain of building materials including wood, metals and plastic near Balvie Cottage on Stockiemuir Road, Milngavie, East Dumbartonshire, near the start of the pandemic last year.
The 33-year-old builder from Milngavie was filmed by the building's owner who had been putting up with flytipping for around five years and submitted the footage to the community safety officer for East Dunbartonshire Council responsible for fly tipping issues in the area.
McCourt has now been sentenced for illegally disposing of building waste in court following the probe.
He was was given a Community Payback Order with 80 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £300 compensation after he pled guilty at Dumbarton Sheriff Court today to an environmental breach on May, 5 2020.
CCTV showed McCourt pulling up in a white hire van and putting tape over the rear registration plate before dumping building waste including wood and plasterboard onto the grass verge.
The community safety officer tracked down McCourt’s details before reporting the matter to Police Scotland.
Fiona Caldwell, Procurator Fiscal, Wildlife and Environment, said: “Flytipping causes the public real and legitimate concern. It is criminal behaviour which creates an eyesore on the landscape and is costly to clear up.
“David McCourt showed a lack of consideration for the environment by his deliberate and criminal action.
“There is no excuse for illegal dumping of waste and those who choose to engage in it will be brought to account for their actions.”
There had been a dramatic upturn in flytipping during the coronavirus pandemic with bags of rubbish dumped around scenic spots across Scotland.
In May, sofa parts and a clothes horse can be seen among the huge pile of trash which has been cordoned off with traffic cones on the Draffan Road, near Kirkmuirhill in South Lanarkshire.
The local authority has launched a probe into the dumping, which they believe is from a skip lorry, and have called for any witnesses to come forward.
Councils have vowed to crack down on the practice with litter pickers in West Lothian alone reportedly filling 800 bags a week.
But the surge has also lead to an increase in community litter picks to help reduce the blight on the environment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here
