A temporary CCTV camera has been used to catch a Powys resident dumping cardboard in a village hall car park.

Following concerns from local councillors about residents abusing the community recycling site in Llangynidr Village Hall car park, the temporary camera was installed.

The camera was set up by Powys County Council's Waste Awareness and Enforcement Team.

The fly-tipping suspect was then caught on camera leaving cardboard on the ground. Using their car number plate, they were traced via the DVLA database and issued with a £400 fixed penalty notice.

Cllr Jackie Charlton, Cabinet Member for a Greener Powys said: “Some people are under the illusion that if the recycling banks are full, they can just leave their items on the ground.

“This is totally inappropriate, it is illegal and constitutes as fly-tipping, as this local resident has found out to their cost.

“We always appreciate it when people wish to recycle their waste, but if the recycling banks are full, please take it home and return another day rather than leave stuff on the ground.

“Not only does it create an eye-sore, but the dumped materials also often get blown around in the wind and ends up being an environmental hazard for the whole area. Plus, it creates an awful lot of work, for our already stretched workforce, needlessly picking up other people’s rubbish because they can’t be bothers to recycle it responsibly.”

By working with the partnership initiative, Fly-tipping Action, the Waste Awareness and Enforcement Team is quickly and easily able to set up motion sensitive, infra-red cameras in fly-tipping hotspots across the county. This is seen as not only a good deterrent to would-be-law breakers, but also helps catch the individuals who abuse community recycling facilities.

Any incidences of fly-tipping in the county can be reported online here.