A fly tipper trying to dump garbage in a beauty spot on the outskirts of Edinburgh was scared off after being snapped in the act by a camera-wielding local.
The man, who can be seen unloading an unsightly pile of trash including mattresses, a highchair and a large fridge-freezer, is said to have then reloaded his van and driven away after he realised he was being photographed.
The tipper was caught by a local man yesterday evening (Monday, August 31) in woods near Dalkeith, who decided to pull out his camera and capture the illegal act.
Posting the photo on social media, the man said: “I found this guy fly tipping this van load in the end of the bridle path off the drive to Melville Castle this evening around 7:30pm when I was setting out for a dog walk (I go here frequently).”
He added: “When I produced a camera and photographed him he quickly loaded it all back into the van and drove off - hopefully back to Edinburgh, where he claimed to have come from, and not to some other place to dump it in Midlothian.”
The local said the incident had been reported on the Zero Waste Scotland website which has a section for reporting fly-tipping incidents.
Edinburgh Live are currently running a campaign called Don't Trash Our Future calling for harsher penalties for fly tippers and people who litter. You can sign our petition below:
