LEAVING the military after seven years of service a man decided to set up his own business, but after only weeks of trading he found himself in hot water when the waste he collected from a take-away refit was found fly-tipped.

Aaron Bull denies dumping the builder’s waste at Old Road, Badbury last summer, but magistrates convicted him of the offence after a two hour trial on Friday afternoon at Swindon Magistrates’ Court.

The 28-year-old of Beech Avenue was contracted to dispose of waste from the refit of Kebria Tandoori in July last year and claims he took the plasterboard, tiles and other fittings to Purton tip for disposal.

But prosecuting on behalf of Swindon Borough Council Anna Midgley told magistrates this was not possible, as the tip had actually been closed on that day and the waste had been discovered the following morning at 9am.

Among the rubble discovered by the resident who lived nearby, was an envelope with the take-away’s address on it and a notice that it was closing for two weeks while the work was carried out. She raised the alarm with police and Swindon Borough Council began an investigation.

Magistrates heard from the building contractor, Ben Moody, who had paid Bull £160 to dispose of the waste when he came to the take-away on Highworth High Street on Wednesday, July 22. He said this was the only old waste that had come out of the refit, with all of the “new waste” – offcuts from the new materials going into the restaurant – being put into a skip outside his home address.

When asked by magistrates why they had not had a skip outside the tandoori he told them it would have been complicated to get a licence due to Highworth’s market.

Representing himself in court Mr Bull questioned Mr Moody over this. He said: “I don’t believe that I am the only person who took the waste from the restaurant.”

Mr Moody said: “The waste in the picture is clearly from the old restaurant. If you take two loads away, what else is going to be left?”

The court heard from take-away owner Salam Abdus who – speaking through his daughter as an interpreter - told the magistrates he had only seen waste being taken away by three men in a white van, none of which were Bull.

Bull told the magistrates that on arriving at Purton tip he had even had a conversation with a woman there who had told him he shouldn’t be dumping waste there as he was from Swindon. After showing her his military ID they had a long conversation and he was allowed to deposit the waste.

He said: “If they say it wasn’t open then obviously I have obviously got the name of the tip yard wrong.

“I couldn’t tell you if it was the same – builder’s waste is builder’s waste.”

Sentencing him, chairman of the bench Nigel Spinney told Bull: “Mr Moody has given evidence that these were the only two lots taken away. The take-away owner has said this was the waste from his take-away. We have heard and we believe that the waste was fly tipped by you and we believe that beyond reasonable doubt. We find you guilty.”

Bull branded their decision “an absolute joke” and questioned how they could disregard his evidence.

After hearing Bull had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder the magistrates ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared on him before they decide on his sentence. He will appear in court again on March 7 for sentencing.