A GIANT teddy, a mattress and boxes of paperwork were amongst the rubbish dumped by a man in a woodland near Pershore.

Steven Biddle, of Open Fields, Bromyard in Herefordshire, has been ordered to pay almost £1,000 in fines and costs after being prosecuted by Wychavon District Council.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty at Worcester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 2 April to breaching section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Officers at Wychavon began investigating after reports of rubbish dumped at Millennium Woods at Stoulton in July last year.

When they visited the site they found three separate piles of waste containing items including storage units, tools, parts of a bed, boxes of paperwork, a mattress and a giant teddy bear.

Some of the paperwork contained personal details which led officers to a woman living at an address in Leominster.

When interviewed she said she was in the process of moving house and needed a large amount of rubbish disposed of and had found Biddle on Facebook, who had been advertising his waste removal services. She agreed with him the waste would be removed for £55.

However rather than dispose of the waste properly, Biddle dumped it.

Mark Sheward, defending, told the court Biddle was unemployed but moved rubbish for friends and their friends.

He added Biddle had intended to dispose of the waste properly but had received a call from a family member who was ill and dumped the rubbish so he could rush off to hospital to visit them.

His only income was £50 a week he got for caring for his uncle. He said Biddle took full responsibility for his actions, had never done it before and would not do so again.

Magistrates fined Biddle £183, ordered him to pay a £20 victim surcharge and £765 in costs, which must be repaid at £10 a week.

Sharon Casswell, client services manager at Wychavon District Council, said: "Most of the waste fly tipped in this case could have been properly disposed of at any local landfill site free of charge. This kind of action is irresponsible and indefensible and we will not hesitate to prosecute offenders.

"Fly tipping not only damages the environment but costs landowners and the taxpayer money. Wychavon spends about £50,000 a year on enforcement and clean up costs related to fly tipping. That is money which could be better spent elsewhere."