POLICE and environmental health officers say a four month prison sentence imposed on a man who dumped asbestos waste in the heart of the North York Moors National Park should act as a severe warning to fly tippers.

Darren Goddard of Lazenby, near Middlesbrough, was tracked down through Operation Eyeball after he dumped a large amount of asbestos waste and other building materials at Danby, near Whitby last August. He had admitted the offences at Scarborough Magistrates court previously and was sentenced earlier this month.

Sergeant Gareth Gilleard, of Whitby Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "The custodial sentence imposed by the court sends a very strong message that dumping waste in our precious countryside is completely unacceptable.

"The prosecution also underlines how we can tackle this issue, with police, local authorities and other organisations working closely together. It came about as a result of a ‘day of action’ involving Whitby Neighbourhood Policing Team, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, other agencies, and specialist police resources.

"I would urge members of the public to help us; if you find or witness fly-tipping, wherever it is, record as many details about the incident and the waste as you can, and report it to your local authority or via the gov.uk website. This will allow us to take action against those responsible and stop them fly-tipping in the future."

Harry Briggs, Scarborough Borough Council's Deputy Operations, Transport Manager said: "This is an important sentence and demonstrates how seriously we, North Yorkshire Police and HM Court Service take such offences. We always investigate reports of fly-tipping with a view to tracing and bringing those responsible to justice. This is the first custodial sentence we have achieved for an offence of fly-tipping which must act as a warning to anyone who thinks they can dump waste in our communities and get away with it."

He said new powers are coming into force allowing councils to issue penalties to households who give their waste to unlicensed people, licensed carriers are registered at environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers