Liverpool flytipper blamed spider on his arm for illegally dumping waste over a fence

A flytipping van driver blamed a spider on his arm after he was caught illegally dumping goods in Liverpool.

In November, just days after the City Council revealed it was launching a crackdown on environmental crime, a motorist was spotted dumping items in Old Swan. A screenshot of CCTV footage was posted to social media by the local authority showing the driver throwing items over a fence.

The individual, who faced a fine worth hundreds of pounds and potentially losing their vehicle, could have driven to the nearby household recycling centre on the east side of the city. According to a new update from the city council on the case, the driver responsible blamed a rather far fetched reason for being caught in the act.

Liverpool Council tweeted: “The driver of this white van claimed they had to stop and throw everything out, because…? ‘A spider was crawling on my arm’.

“This is not a joke. Nor is flytipping. The £400 fine has been paid.”

Liverpool Council has had success in shaming those responsible for environmental crime on social media. Two months ago, the local authority confirmed it was creating a highly visible, dedicated taskforce to tackle environmental crime across the city.

Half a dozen new officers are to be deployed to tackle offences and be a “highly visible uniformed team who can be deployed proactively to deal with environmental issues.” Last year, a review of local authority’s capacity and capability with regards to enforcement was undertaken which found that while there is a strong willingness to carry out enforcement duties there were a number of obstacles to delivering formal actions.

The new team will be using a “targeted approach” focusing on known problem areas in the city as it looks to adopt a streamlined approach across its neighbourhoods directorate. It remains illegal to dump waste onto any land that is not an authorised waste disposal site, such as old sofas or mattresses, chemical drums, tyres or bags of rubbish.

In December, the city council said it was currently tracking around 40 fly-tipping offenders and processing fines of £400 to more than half of them.