Man returns fly-tipper's rubbish to his doorstep after sifting through CCTV

A man returned seven bags of dumped rubbish to a fly-tipper's doorstep after sifting through CCTV.

Dean Gauci had grown angry that the block of flats he manages in Cardiff was being repeatedly targeted by waste offenders.

Using amateur detective skills, he looked through hours of CCTV recordings before finding the moment the rubbish was left - 09:00 BST on 12 June.

By speaking to neighbours and showing them the footage, he was able to quickly establish the identity of the offender, and the fact that he lived close by.

Dean, 38, carried the sacks - which were filled with household waste - to the nearby property and piled them outside before ringing the doorbell.

The culprit answered and was told he had been caught red-handed on CCTV, before responding with "I was going to move this, sorry mate", according to Dean.

As an Airbnb maintenance worker in Wales' capital, the incident had been the final straw for Dean, after dealing with dozens of cases over the past year.

"People fly-tip here all the time - this is probably the 30th or 40th time people have done it," he added.

Because of this, he was determined to track down the person who had left the waste on this occasion.

He said: "I could have taken that rubbish and charged the landlord [of the flats] to dispose of it, but I wanted to do the right thing and catch them."

Before CCTV led him to the culprit, Dean had sifted through the bags looking for any letters that may have addresses or any clues.

But he said the offender had tried to cover their tracks, with a number of Amazon boxes in the rubbish with labels peeled off.

Not to be deterred, Dean started chatting to neighbours, before quickly finding one who recognised the face in the footage.

After returning the rubbish to his property, he filmed the moment the shocked waste offender opened his front door and had no choice but to admit his guilt.

"I piled it right up on his doorstep to give him a taste of his own medicine," Dean added.

"His response was funny, he must have felt stupid. But he dumped it."

Dean said his did not notify the police but did report the incident to Cardiff council.

The local authority said it provided a comprehensive waste and recycling service, and over a four-week period, a household can potentially have 22 separate waste collections.

A spokesperson for Cardiff council added: "Dumping waste next to a litter bin, or outside someone else's property, is fly-tipping. Enforcement action will be taken if evidence is found to identify the individual responsible.

"Our message to those who continue to damage the environment we all share is simple: please stop.

"If you are caught, you will either receive a fixed penalty notice or face court action, which could result in a fine of up to £50,000 or six months' imprisonment, depending on the severity of the case."

They urged anyone who spots fly-tipping to report it.

Fly-tipping incidents continue to blight areas right across Wales, with figures released earlier this year the highest since 2009.

According to the data published by the Welsh government, about 71% of those reported involved household waste, while over the past 12 months there have been 27,749 enforcement actions - 9% more than in the previous year.

In February, a Cardiff resident described how incidents of bagged waste being dumped on her street had tripled in two years.

Earlier this year, an old sofa, a bed frame and a mattress were just some of the items of fly-tipped rubbish dumped outside a boarded-up property in Ely.

Following the release of the statistics, the Welsh government said funding had been given to Fly-tipping Action Wales to provide 150 cameras so local authorities could target hot-spots and help clean up communities.

Fixed penalty notices of £300 can be handed out for smaller-scale offences such as littering, minor fly-tipping, or failing to check a waste carrier's licence.

Fines of up to £5,000 are given for large-scale, repeat or commercial fly-tipping incidents which also involve a trip to the magistrates' court.

Last year, there were more than 1,500 fixed penalty notices issued in Wales, along with 69 successful prosecutions - 20 of these were in Cardiff, 18 in Rhondda Cynon Taf and nine in Carmarthenshire.

"Fly-tipping damages our environment, costs taxpayers millions, and undermines communities," said Heidi Pawlin, programme manager for Fly-tipping Action Wales.