Fly-tipping vigilante tracks 'dumper' to his HOME... and escorts him back to country lane to clear up his rubbish

Published: 01:01, 16 June 2026 | Updated: 01:01, 16 June 2026 A furious vigilante confronted an alleged fly-tipper at his house after discovering his address on a discarded cardboard box - and made him return to clear up the mess. Stephen Pownall, 67, said he was 'sick of it' after mounds of waste were illegally dumped on a country lane in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester. The rubbish, which included a Toshiba-branded cardboard box, other packaging and black bin bags, had been left strewn across the roadside at a notorious dumping spot. But the alleged fly-tipper appeared to have made one crucial mistake - leaving his address on one of the boxes. Mr Pownall, from Wigan, said he used the details to track the man to his nearby home before confronting him and ordering him to drive back to the lane and remove the waste. The lorry driver told the Daily Mail: 'He was pretty surprised to say the least when he turned up. 'But he couldn't really defend himself as he knew he was in the wrong. I didn't threaten him or anything but I was pretty stern with him. 'People are really sick and tired of fly-tipping and it needs to stop.' Stephen Pownall (pictured) said he was 'sick of it' after mounds of waste were illegally dumped on a country lane in Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester But the alleged fly-tipper appeared to have made one crucial mistake - leaving his address on one of the boxes. Mr Pownall, from Wigan, said he used the details to track the man to his nearby home before confronting him and ordering him to drive back to the lane and remove the waste. Pictured: The alleged fly-tipper removing the waste on Mr Pownall's orders  Footage (pictured) posted on TikTok shows Mr Pownall following an Audi Q7 as it returns to the fly-tipping scene in Riding Lane Footage posted on TikTok shows Mr Pownall following an Audi Q7 as it returns to the fly-tipping scene in Riding Lane. Mr Pownall said in the video: 'I've just been to the guy's house who's done that fly-tipping. This is him in front of me here in this Audi. 'And he's going back now, moving it all. I'm sick of it'. He added: 'I've been and confronted him and told him. Said you better go and get it shifted, so he's on his way back.' The clip, which is laced with expletives, shows Mr Pownall confronting the man at the fly-tip site and telling him the dumping is 'not acceptable'. As the man begins clearing the rubbish, Mr Pownall says: 'Get it shifted. All of it. We don't do that around here. We do not do it around here. So go on, get it off. Take it away.' The man, speaking in a foreign accent, then appears to admit fault, saying: 'I did wrong, I know I did wrong.' Mr Pownall replies: 'You did wrong, you have done wrong, so on your way.' The footage also shows a Wigan Council official warning the man he risks a £1,000 fine or a potential prison sentence for dumping waste illegally. Mr Pownall, who has previously installed cameras at known fly-tipping locations, said locals were fed up with people treating the area as a dumping ground. 'It's disgusting that people can think that they can dump rubbish anywhere. It's just not right and I am sick of people doing it,' he told the Daily Mail.  'I've caught three people doing it this year alone. But I've tracked them down and then made them take it back. 'They all been pretty apologetic when they've been caught as they know it's wrong. It's an outrageous thing to do. I just don't like people doing it.' The clip, which is laced with expletives, shows Mr Pownall confronting the man (pictured) at the fly-tip site and telling him the dumping is 'not acceptable' As the man begins clearing the rubbish (pictured), Mr Pownall says: 'Get it shifted. All of it. We don't do that around here' The footage also shows a Wigan Council official warning the man he risks a £1,000 fine or a potential prison sentence for dumping waste illegally. Pictured: The rubbish the man allegedly left  He said he has caught three fly-tippers this year and made them take back their rubbish.  Mr Pownall apprehended one man dumping 500 tyres on land owned by his friend.  And since then, he has caught others simply abandoning two big leather sofas, a garage door and a trailer filled with rubbish.   His most recent confrontation, recorded in April, comes amid a national surge in fly-tipping across England. Around 38million tonnes of waste each year is dumped illegally, enough to fill Wembley Stadium 35 times over every year. Latest Defra figures show local authorities dealt with 1.26million fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25, up nine per cent on the previous year. Household waste made up 62 per cent of incidents, while highways - roads and pavements - were the most common dumping spots, accounting for 37 per cent. Councils carried out 572,000 enforcement actions in 2024/25, but just 69,000 fixed penalty notices were issued and the number of court fines fell to 1,250. Fly-tipping is a criminal offence. Councils can prosecute under environmental laws, and convicted offenders can face an unlimited fine or up to five years in prison in the most serious cases. Organised crime groups - including syndicates also involved in drug trafficking and money laundering - have also seized on waste as a 'low risk, high reward' goldmine. The scourge of trash mountains which have appeared across Britain last year led a former Environmental Agency chief to describe the illicit £1billion-a-year racket as 'the new narcotics'. The comments below have been moderated in advance. 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